Culver City Wants You To Share Any Experiences Facing Discrimination In Their Town

Culver City is asking people who have faced discrimination while living or working in the city to share their experiences in a new study, now underway.

Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, Culver City's vice mayor, says this effort comes two years after the city publicly acknowledged its history of segregation and police abuse. In 2021, the city council passed a resolution that acknowledges that history and the harm caused to Black community members and people of color.

"We apologize for the harm that happened," McMorrin said. At the same time, she notes: "There has been no historical record of that harm. So this is kind of completing the record."

A 'sundown town' history

Culver City has a history of being a "sundown town" — places that prevented Black people and people of color from living in certain jurisdictions or even being inside the city limits after sundown. When Culver City was founded by Henry Culver, he posted an ad in the Los Angeles Herald calling it a "little white city."

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McMorrin noted many residents do not know this history. The 2021 resolution also addressed:

• The fact that the Ku Klux Klan held meetings in the city.
• Racially restrictive covenants prohibited Black people and other people of color from becoming homeowners.
• The city was founded on land stolen from the Gabrielino-Tongva peoples.

Accounting for racism

In January of this year, the City Council approved an agreement to work with the Architectural Resources Group to prepare a historical context study. City leaders say the study can fill some gaps.

"It's good that the survey exists, given the past trajectory, and the decisions of the city and the past," McMorrin said, adding that she hopes data from the survey will prompt the city to take action on issuing reparations to people impacted by the city's discriminatory policies.

She adds that the city's police department also has a racist past — like hiring Timothy Wind, one of the police officers who was part of the beating of Rodney King — that extends to present day.

An analysis from UCLA professor Kelly Lytle found that arrests in the city from 2016 to 2018 mainly targeted people of color — 37% Black and 35% Latino — a majority of those classified for misdemeanor charges. Those arrests were disproportionate with Culver City's demographics, then just 8% Black and 23% Latino.

The city later moved to end police stops for minor traffic infractions like broken or tinted mirrors, broken lights, etc. in 2021.

McMorrin adds that even the anti-camping ordinance is another form of a discriminatory policy where the average rent in the city is around $2,000 to $3,000, according to Rent Cafe.

"If you can't afford $2,000 plus a month, you cannot be here and we will make sure and enforce that with police, which is very similar to the original origins of the city, which were very clear about who belongs in this community."

What's next

The survey is open until September for community members to fill out. It's looking for:

• Any knowledge of past discrimination against groups and individuals living and/or working in Culver City.
• Any lived experiences living or working in Culver City as a BIPOC individual in the past or present.
• Any experiences with discrimination while living or working in Culver City.

Read more on the effort or go directly to the study.