Parts of Los Angeles ethnically cleansed of white people have a new look

Ed Straker

"The heavily Hispanic neighborhood of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles declared victory recently when they managed to drive a "white" art gallery from the neighborhood.  Community groups have been battling to drive out art galleries out of fear of "gentrification," the code word for white people. 

Almost from the moment it opened its doors last year Pssst, a nonprofit gallery, and its creators, have been the focus of protests and criticism on social media.

Last month, they announced they could no longer tolerate it. They were closing up shop.

"This persistent targeting, which was often highly personal in nature, was made all the more intolerable because the artists we engaged are queer, women, and/or people of color," they said on their website. "We could no longer continue to put already vulnerable communities at further risk."

Defend Boyle Heights, one of the activist groups that has called for a boycott of the galleries, said that it considered the closing a victory and that it hoped other galleries would soon follow suit." 

 . . . "Questions for discussion:

1) Having driven out the art gallery, do you think Latinos will come to regret losing a convenient source of "queer art"?

2) Can a "queer art" gallery coexist with check-cashing places and taco trucks?

3) How come businesses in English-speaking neighborhoods don't have bars on their windows?  Is this a cultural thing?

4) Do you think residents of Boyle Heights were right to be alarmed about what an influx of white people might do to their beautiful neighborhood?