A new bill introduced in the California legislature seeks to provide reparations for 1,800 Los Angeles families that were forcibly evicted from their homes in the area where Dodger Stadium was constructed.
According to combined media reports, the mostly Mexican-American community in a 300-acre area encompassing the neighborhoods of Palo Verde, La Loma and Bishop came under pressure from 1951 to 1959 to sell their land, which the City of Los Angeles initially planned to use for the creation of affordable housing. The families that refused to sell where evicted under eminent domain and some were physically removed by law enforcement. The city never built the affordable housing, but instead cut a deal with Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, who was seeking to move his team out of Brooklyn.
Assembly Bill 1950, also known as the Chavez Ravine Accountability Act, was introduced last week by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo. If the bill becomes law, it will create a nine-member task for to determine the compensation to be provided the displaced residents who are still living or to their descendants. The compensation could be provided in different forms, including money or city-owned land. A memorial to the displaced would also be created.
“With this legislation, we are addressing the past, giving voice to this injustice, acknowledging the pain of those displaced, offering reparative measures and ensuring that we honor and remember the legacy of the families and the communities,” said Carrillo.
There has been no public comment on the bill from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the Dodgers organization.
Photo: Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons
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