Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

News

Why We've Shifted Our Approach To Telling Black Stories

()

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

In 2019, our newsroom took a step back to rethink how we could serve our readers and listeners who are people of color. We were well aware that public media has long fallen short when it comes to expanding stories beyond a white-centered view of the world. That August, our staff gathered around the big newsroom table, where we usually talk about stories, to vent, grieve and try to wrap our heads around a mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart two days earlier. The gunman had targeted Latinos.

As we talked, many of us expressed how racism factored into our own lived experiences. We decided there would be value in letting our audience have the same opportunity. Then the pandemic hit — delaying plans to launch a project we were calling Race In LA. We suddenly needed to dedicate most of our resources to COVID-19, while worrying about how to keep ourselves and our families safe.

Then, when the protests over the videotaped killing of George Floyd began, we knew we needed to move forward with a project that felt especially timely. Our first essay was published in June 2020.

Race In LA partnered with KPCC's events team to host our first round of the Unheard LA: A Deeper Listen series in July. Racism 101 sprung from these conversations. We wanted to create a dialogue on race and race-related issues. We provided a safe space for the community to ask questions -- any respectful and even silly or embarrassing questions -- of a panel of Angelenos of diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.

Support for LAist comes from

An extension of Race In LA, The 8 Percent explores how Black migration, community and culture have shaped and changed L.A. The first installment was published in August last year on the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall in New Orleans. “LA to L.A.” examined the deep ties between L.A.’s Black community and Louisiana. The reporting for this effort started in 2019 with an eye to the upcoming milestone anniversary. Like many other stories, it was transformed and slowed by the pandemic.

We hope to use our Black History Month coverage to keep the momentum of the work we’d begun and use it as a catalyst to keep it going.

* * *

Special thanks to everyone whose efforts have made producing Race In LA, The 8 Percent, Racism 101 and Unheard LA: A Deeper Listen possible: Leslie Berestein Rojas and all of our essayists, Chava Sanchez, all of our Racism 101 panelists and question-askers, Giuliana Mayo, Caitlin Hernández, Peri Wallent, Jon Cohn, Bruce Lemon, Jr., Tony Federico, Rebecca Stumme, Daphne Liu, Ashley Alvarado.

READ MORE

RELATED

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist