Sahra Sulaiman

Sahra is Communities Editor for Streetsblog L.A., covering the intersection of mobility with race, class, history, representation, policing, housing, health, culture, community, and access to the public space in Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles.

The Crenshaw Wall tells the story of the community's resilience, strength, beauty, and power. Someone covered the faces of four female Black Panthers (one of which is in the frame) with swastikas on November 29th. The streetlight was down to make way for the Space Shuttle Endeavor as it moved up Crenshaw in 2012. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

Community Meeting Tonight to Discuss the Vandalism of the Crenshaw Wall

By Sahra Sulaiman | Dec 7, 2018 | 4 Comments

Tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Hills Community Room, community leaders and LAPD will discuss the vandalism of the Crenshaw Wall.

A cyclist speeds past a butterfly on 1st St. in Boyle Heights. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

Cyclists Needed for Project to Monitor Air Quality in Southeast L.A. and on Eastside

By Sahra Sulaiman | Dec 4, 2018 | 1 Comment

Environmental justice advocate seeks help tracking particulate matter in residential areas bordered by industry, freeways

Black Panther Movement Figures on Crenshaw’s Great Wall Defaced with Swastikas

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 29, 2018 | 6 Comments

Earlier today, Jasmyne Cannick alerted the South Central community to the swastikas defacing the “Our Mighty Contribution” mural gracing Crenshaw’s 7800-foot-long Great Wall. Vandals deface Black Panther mural on Crenshaw Blvd. in #SouthLA with swastikas. https://t.co/UH3NXO4TkF — Jasmyne Cannick (@Jasmyne) November 29, 2018 Even as she lamented the hate crime, hateful comments were popping up […]

A sidewalk vendor feeds cyclists on Olympic Blvd. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

City Council Set to Approve Historic Sidewalk Vending Ordinance

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 28, 2018 | 1 Comment

"Por favor..." vendor Belén Ortiz implored the councilmembers, "Queremos salir de la sombra." (Please, we want to come out of the shadows.)

Part of the Student Residency Questionnaire gets at the different living situations students might be experiencing.

LAUSD to Explore Housing and Wraparound Service Provision for its 17,000+ Homeless Students

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 20, 2018 | 2 Comments

Last week, in response to the problem of homelessness among youth in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the school board approved a resolution directing Superintendent Austin Beutner to “explore innovative solutions to provide permanent and or interim housing for homeless students and their families,” advocate for the expansion of Section 8 voucher program, […]

Mariachi musician Luis Valdivia (white suit, center) waits to address the crowd regarding an $800 rent increase he was hit with at a rally at Mariachi Plaza in April, 2017. He stands next to Arturo Ramírez, president of the Organización de Mariachis Unidos de Los Ángeles. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

Rent Stabilization and the Integrity of Vulnerable Ecosystems: Some Last Thoughts on Prop 10

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 6, 2018 | 20 Comments

Within a few weeks of buying the building located a block from Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights at the end of 2016, Frank “B.J.” Turner had raised rents on a handful of long-term tenants by between 60 and 80 percent. He had also created a website for the building, re-christened “Mariachi Crossing,” targeting those that […]

This (in-progress) detail by artist Jaime Scholnick will feature in a larger panel of scenes running along one of the underground walls at the Expo/Crenshaw station. Source: Jaime Scholnick

Art, the Crenshaw/LAX Line, and the Stories We (Don’t) Tell at Train Stations

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 1, 2018

Given the role public investment can have in reshaping marginalized communities, what responsibilities does Metro have as an entity that seeks to tell stories about the places it moves people through?

The vacant lots encompassing the 8400 and 8500 blocks on Vermont have held the community hostage to blight for over 26 years. The 8300 block (from which this photo was taken) had also remained vacant for a number of years and was originally going to be incorporated into the Vermont Entertainment Village project. In the mid-2000s, Eli Sasson sold off his 8300 block parcels (helping to doom the mall project) and the County services building rose on it instead in 2007. Source: County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas

As Metro’s Transportation School at Vermont/Manchester Moves Forward, a Community Reckons with the Past, Wrestles with the Form Change Should Take

By Sahra Sulaiman | Oct 16, 2018 | 1 Comment

For black stakeholders eager to shed the despised "Death Alley" label and address the damage rooted in segregationist policies, the stakes feel especially high

The project will straddle Crenshaw Blvd., south of Exposition, at the juncture of the Expo and Crenshaw/LAX Lines. Source: Metro

Project Planned for Lots at Expo/Crenshaw Takes Another Step Forward

By Sahra Sulaiman | Sep 29, 2018 | 2 Comments

Last Thurday, the Metro Board of Directors approved a 14-month Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) with developer WIP-A, LLC, (a subsidiary of Watt Companies), allowing the project planned for the Metro- and County-owned lots at the Expo/Crenshaw station to take the next step forward. The move is a bit more of a head-scratcher than it might […]

Kindness in action. In a new Metro etiquette PSA, "Super Kind" blasts "Rude Dude" in the face for listening to loud music.

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