The Brief

In the 1980s few artists documented gang and street life in Los Angeles. Photographer Merrick Morton was one of the first to cement that era in history with his pictures of the men and women who lived it.

His first solo show, “UN-REHEARSED” at Chinatown’s Eastern Projects gallery, exhibits cholos, Black gangs, guns, drugs, police brutality and other parts of L.A. history from that period and beyond. He captures the violence but also the humanity of these communities.

“For me, the most interesting part is some of the subjects that I shot going back to the '80s have actually shown up [at the gallery] and they've come in,” he says. Others “come in to see [photos of] their family. So, to me, that's the most exciting part of it.”

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#276: Merrick Morton is one of the first people to document Chicano gang culture in L.A. He also photographed women in prison, Latinas at kickbacks, and people on death row. Almost all of his photos capture something that you might not expect: a tenderness, a realness. We meet up with Merrick at the Eastern Projects gallery in Chinatown, where an exhibit of his work titled "Un-Rehearsed" is on display, to talk about his art and how he started photographing these communities. If you want to see some examples of his work, check out this article on LAist.com. Or - come see the free show in person! It's running until May 18th.

Photographer Merrick Morton Cemented 80s Gang Culture In History

#276: Merrick Morton is one of the first people to document Chicano gang culture in L.A. He also photographed women in prison, Latinas at kickbacks, and people on death row. Almost all of his photos capture something that you might not expect: a tenderness, a realness. We meet up with Merrick at the Eastern Projects gallery in Chinatown, where an exhibit of his work titled "Un-Rehearsed" is on display, to talk about his art and how he started photographing these communities. If you want to see some examples of his work, check out this article on LAist.com. Or - come see the free show in person! It's running until May 18th.

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Documenting L.A. life

Morton is a homegrown Angeleno from the Valley, and before he began documenting cliques and gang life, he practiced photography at a state psychiatric hospital through a California grant that allowed people to interact with patients. (Some of those photos are showcased at the exhibit.)

Through his connections in his grant work, he was able to reach out to the California State Department of Corrections, which eventually led to meeting a correctional officer, Gerald Ivory, who allowed him to tag along as he visited parolees. That was Morton’s entryway to being in community with L.A. gang members and their families.

Morton took portraits of people who ran with gangs like Elm Street, Venice Locos and Florencia 13, and photographed the events they were involved in, from hangouts and family barbecues to funerals and run-ins with police officers.

Photographer Merrick Morton captured all aspects of 1980s gang and street life in L.A.

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Courtesy of Merrick Morton

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Merrick Morton captured street photography and portraits of gang members in L.A. in the 1980s and on.

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Courtesy of Merrick Morton

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Morton wasn’t the only one putting attention on this slice of the Chicano experience during this time period. There were other artists in different media who elevated the culture, groups like Asco, Carlos Almaraz, and the folks at Self Help Graphics. Morton also credits artist John Valadez — who captured pachuco culture — as someone who exposed him to Chicano culture and art and influenced his work. But still, many people in the '80s weren’t exposed to the culture at this point.

A white photographer in Black and brown communities

He and Ivory who, Morton says, had become a friend, started by visiting East and South L.A. communities, first photographing portraits of folks at the Obregon Park rec center and later gaining trust to visit them at their homes or other hang out spots. He notes the probation officer and the photog definitely got looks when they started out documenting this.

“It was sort of interesting for us, too, because he's a Black guy, I'm a white guy, and people would sort of see us on the streets, too, and say, ‘Who are you?’” he says.

But Morton, a self-described shy guy, says he never wanted to overstep. He knew how he could be perceived as a stranger, and a white man in his 30s, usually dealing with people of color who were younger than him. One of his advantages, says Morton, was it wasn’t common for folks to have a camera on them, like it is nowadays with iPhones. Many people just didn’t have photos of themselves or their homies.

Eventually, his photography of the communities lowered down walls.

Photographer Merrick Morton also captured the joy in gang communities.

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Courtesy of Merrick Morton

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In the photographs, some subjects are covered in tattoos, with stoic gazes and soft eyes. Other pictures capture youngsters hanging out — maybe experiencing some type of joy — even for a moment. There’s also a glimpse of '80s and '90s fashion choices, especially with the ladies’ bangs and signature eyeliner eyebrows.

Hollywood work

This led to other publishing work. Morton's photographs were featured in LA Weekly and Rolling Stone — again, at a time when mainstream media wasn’t reporting on the humanity of these communities. Eventually, more people began to pay attention.

His photographs caught the attention of Hollywood. Morton was tapped to work as a consultant and set photographer for movies like La Bamba,” Fight Club and Blood In, Blood Out. He’s worked on dozens of films, as well as TV sets, for more than two decades, and those photos of Brad Pitt and other actors are also in the exhibition at Eastern Projects.

One of the bigger frames at the gallery holds a black and white portrait of a young Richard Cabral, “The Mayans” actor who was previously a gang member. Cabral had come through Homeboy Industries and Morton later met him on a film set, photographing him in 2011. Both have an upcoming project that features Cabral’s poetry and Morton’s visuals, in a documentary-style view of East L.A.

Morton’s work also took him to Mexico and Cuba to document those gangs, too.

“Sometimes people will say that, ‘Hey, you're exploiting violence … there are certain images of people holding guns or drugs,’” he says, “but I think for me, it's more about creating the dialogue to talk about these things."

Keeping the images alive

It hasn’t been easy to continue publishing these historic images. Morton's had film and photography confiscated by officials before. And when social media became part of our lives, Morton gravitated to Instagram. He began publishing his photos on that platform, gaining attention once again — the good and bad. Instagram ended up taking down his account three times or deleting pictures off his feed, most times saying that his images depicted violence.

The experience has been, to say the least, frustrating for Morton. He feels that sometimes the decision to take something down seems based on race, and that white people being photographed with their guns on an account like the NRA’s get a pass, he says.

“Sometimes it seems it's racial, what [social media platforms] go after,” Morton says. “Compared to if you're white, it seems you have a little more latitude, what you can put in.”

But he’s back on Instagram, and he stays because that’s how he is able to connect with his subjects or their families years later.

A group of eight Latino young men and boys throwing up gang signs in front of a car at a park.

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Courtesy of Merrick Morton

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At the gallery, he showed me a photo on the wall of a woman from the '80s. She was dipping a cigarette into PCP (angel dust) among friends at a kickback. Then, he brings out his phone to show me another picture. It's the same woman from the photo, decades older, at his gallery show wearing a brightly colored traditional Mexican blouse and holding a sobriety chip.

Same person, different image, different life.

This might have not been the intention for Morton at the time he took her photo, but it seemed like a 180-degree moment, at least for this woman. It felt like a part of history, her history.

Merrick Morton's photography book, Clique: West Coast Portraits from the Hood, is available now and his work will be displayed at Eastern Projects until May 18. I recommend you see it. 

Long-term eviction defense funding for Los Angeles renters could soon begin to flow now that city officials have announced a break in an impasse dating back to May 2025.

L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said Thursday she intends to sign a new $107 million contract with the Legal Aid Foundation of L.A. She said the contract — which was approved by the City Council and the mayor in April, but still awaits her approval — was “nearly finalized.”

“I am fully committed to supporting these crucial eviction defense services for our vulnerable neighbors in need,” Feldstein Soto said in a statement.

Feldstein Soto — who will not secure a second term after placing third in last month’s primary election — pledged to continue investigating the legal aid group. She has frequently criticized the nonprofit for what she sees as a lack of transparency, though L.A. Housing Department officials say the group has consistently provided accounting and caseload data to the city.

“Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability and to know that their money is being used as intended,” Feldstein Soto said.

Barbara Schultz, a Legal Aid Foundation attorney overseeing the city-funded Stay Housed L.A. program, said both parties have been negotiating final contract details for more than a week. She said the city attorney’s announcement was encouraging.

“[Feldstein Soto] said she was going to approve the contract, so I'm very excited to hear that,” Schultz said. “Moving forward… we can continue to grow, fully implement the ‘Right to Counsel,’ and tenants in Los Angeles will be much better off as a result.”

In response to Feldstein Soto’s claims that more than $58 million in eviction defense grants remain “unaccounted for” in the foundation’s financial audits and IRS forms, Schultz said taxpayer dollars have not been misspent and that no findings have been made to that effect.

“[The Legal Aid Foundation] is a very large nonprofit law firm that has over 40 federal, state and local government contracts,” Schultz said. “We are very used to being audited. Any audit the city wants to do to satisfy itself is absolutely fine with us.”

Feldstein Soto denied a five-year contract to the legal aid group last year, arguing it should have gone through a competitive bidding process. After the city solicited applications and selected the group for new long-term funding, she later told city councilmembers in a confidential memo that they should consider withholding support for “a frequent litigant against the city.”

While she announced the contract should be ready for her signature by July 7, Feldstein Soto said her office would move forward with plans to assign forensic accountants to study how the legal aid group has spent more than $90 million in city funds since 2021.

At the Bristol Swap Mall in Santa Ana, people are flocking to buy their Mexico soccer team jerseys and paraphernalia.

“The color is green and that says Mexico right here,” said Catherine Hernandez, who’s entering third grade, as she pointed to the replica Mexico soccer jersey her mother had bought her at a nearby stall.

She asked her mother to get her one the day after Mexico’s win against Ecuador and is already thinking about how she’ll feel wearing it Sunday during Mexico’s knockout game against England in the Round of 16.

“Excited, very excited because I’m Mexican and I love this shirt,” she said.

Hernandez was born in the U.S. and her mother was born in Mexico. Both say their Mexico jerseys symbolize those similar but different prides in their Mexican backgrounds.

They're among fans rooting for Mexico’s men’s national soccer team to advance further than ever before into the World Cup tournament. A win against England would move the team to the Round of 8, the quarterfinals, for the third time. Along the way, this Mexico team has captured the imagination of many in the U.S. who have, or are close to, those of Mexican heritage.

Proudly wearing the green jersey

The market vendor at the stall said only one adult-size 2026 jersey remained. So many had been sold they'd had to place an order for more.

A replica of Mexico's 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer jersey.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

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LAist

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Many Mexico fans have been wearing their jerseys on the days leading up to the team's World Cup matches.

“On Monday, I looked around to see a sea of green, white and red, and it nearly brought me to tears in line at Costco,” said Alex Alcantar, who lives in Norwalk.

He was born and raised in the U.S. and he says his Mexico soccer jersey symbolizes that experience.

“Why I wear my Mexico jersey is because I want to visibly represent this community when our contributions to society are so heavily discounted,” he said.

The team’s growing prominence has also coaxed some others in Mexican communities in the U.S. to feel more confident in their identity.

“I've never used [a Mexico jersey] before,” said Xochi Flores, who was born in Oxnard and whose great-grandparents were Mexican.

“I didn't feel like I could go around representing Mexico when I'm a Chicana, third generation, not the best Spanish speaker,” she said.

Xochi Flores (left), with her husband Cesar Castro, has become more comfortable wearing the soccer jersey recently.

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Courtesy Xochi Flores

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In the past year, she said she’s felt closer to her Mexican roots as she’s seen reports of farmworkers and other people of Mexican descent arrested by ICE agents.

So to her, wearing her Mexico soccer jersey means leaving behind insecurities she used to have about not being “Mexican enough,” as well as “not being American enough.”

“I want my kids to see me embracing all of the parts of me. … They don't have those insecurities, and that makes me happy,” Flores said.

Wearing the jersey when you're Mexican-ish

The stalls are attracting all types of customers. “I'm just looking for a Mexican soccer jersey,” said Son Lam, who lives in nearby Orange and identifies as Vietnamese.

Lam says he’s become devoted to soccer since the World Cup started June 11. Buying and wearing a Mexican soccer team jersey means showing off his newfound sports fandom already embraced by his extended family

“My wife is Mexican and to me, [wearing the Mexico jersey] means I can fit in with the family more," he said as he laughed.

However they identify, all these shoppers will likely be wearing their jerseys as they watch Mexico compete against England on Sunday, July 5. Joining millions of fans rooting for their team to advance to the next round, and keeping dreams of a 2026 FIFA World Cup championship alive.

Santa Ana voters could be asked in November to maintain the city’s 1.5% sales tax, which was set to decrease in 2029 and eventually expire.

Voters approved the citywide sales tax in 2018 on the condition that it sunset in 20 years. Now, the Santa Ana City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to ask voters in November to make the tax permanent.

The big picture

Only about one-third of cities in Orange County have a local sales tax on top of the county-imposed sales tax of 7.75%. Sales taxes in most of Los Angeles County are much higher — L.A.’s countywide sales tax is 9.75% and the highest total sales taxes for cities in L.A. County are in Lancaster and Palmdale, at 11.25% each, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

Other potential tax hikes in OC

Voters in Orange will be considering a sales tax hike on their November ballot, after failing to get voters’ approval in 2024. San Clemente voters will also consider a local sales tax in November to pay for more sand to shore up local beaches.