HTLA: LA's City Council Is a BIG Mess

Episode 19

Brian De Los Santos  00:00

So we wanted to bring you the story all about the mayor's race today exploring the ins and outs of what that office actually does. [music in] But we're gonna have to come back to that another time, because today we gotta talk about some other political news from the weekend. It really all started last October. It was a conversation between three Latino Los Angeles City Council members and the LA Labor Federation president. [audio clip from recorded conversation plays in background: Nury Martinez speaks - "They treat him like a little white kid, which I was like, this kid needs a beatdown. Like, let me take him around the corner and then I'll bring him back."] An anonymous source recorded the conversation and posted it on Reddit. And it all came out this weekend. That's the voice of now former LA City Council President Nury Martinez making some alarming racist slurs about her colleague Mike Bonin's son, who's black.

Nury Martinez  00:46

[recording audio clip] ...they want to be reassured that they have, not a Armenian district in the Valley, because that doesn't exist. [duck under]

Brian De Los Santos  00:51

And some more racist comments about LA's indigenous and Oaxacan community.

Nury Martinez  00:56

[recording audio clip] ...I don't know what village they came out of, how they got here but...

Brian De Los Santos  00:59

Karen Bass who's running for LA mayor called the remarks "appalling anti-black racism."

Nury Martinez  01:04

[recording audio clip] ... a reputable white businesswoman runs in that district, it's still pretty white. But that's on them.

Brian De Los Santos  01:11

And pretty quickly, Angelenos started gathering outside of Martinez's home, demanding her resignation. [people shouting outside Martinez's home] Even local politicians tweeted for her to step down. On Monday, Martinez issued a public apology and resigned from her post as the council president. And all this mess people are digging up? It points to some broader issues in the city. Issues like white supremacy, systemic racism, and posturing in politics. And it got us thinking about this historical racial divide between black and brown communities in LA, and how it plays out in our city. [music out]

Amir Whittaker  01:48

As a voter, I feel like I've been tricked.

Brian De Los Santos  01:52

That's Amir Whittaker. He's the Senior Policy Counsel at Southern California's ACLU.

Amir Whittaker  01:57

You know, as a black man, I kind of feel like I have no representation. And I feel like some of those comments show that they're actively trying to diminish Black Power within Los Angeles. I mean, I moved back to California from Alabama, where I left because of stuff like this. So it's just interesting to be back here and see the, the language board president used when she said, "the Black." That's like Trump language, you know, that that kind of language is coming from, quote unquote, progressives of color that represent me. Some of those comments were anti-black, anti-indigenous, anti-LGBTQ plus, and a lot of those things are rooted in white supremacy and colonization. So the fact that they are supposed to be champions dismantling that system, but they're agents of it as they probably profess to, were deeply disturbing.

Brian De Los Santos  02:48

I also thought of it like, Oh, yeah, this is the way they think. It is what it is. That's not shocking to me. But Nury was the first council president being Latina. And [Amir: Mmm hmm.] for us to hear this is like, Damn, it's a loss. And it shows her true colors.

Amir Whittaker  03:08

So it's ironic that today is Indigenous Peoples Day too, right? That the LA City Council voted to change from Columbus Day, you know, celebrating the colonizers to now honor the people of this land, but LA City Council, back in 1849, 1850 when the city was just quote unquote starting, they passed ordinances literally legalizing enslavement of California Indigenous people and California Natives. That was 170 years ago. But listening to these comments today, right, you see the same white supremist notions of power and communities are still in existence, except that you know, some of the people putting these policies in line share ancestry with that. And it just shows that you know, all of our kind ain't our kin. And just because someone is from a specific group doesn't mean they're working on their behalf.

Amir Whittaker  03:38

Do you feel like there's still a tension between the black and brown communities in LA that has been showcased in Martinez's comments?

Amir Whittaker  04:10

This recording brings a lot of things to the surface that people didn't want to admit and people didn't actually think existed. White supremacy is everywhere, right? But I know within the Latino community, it's shielded or guarded sometimes. I think really from the very beginning, you see our movements pit against each other. You see the people put against each other because the classic divide and conquer. In LA, I mean one of the most popular radio stations, right, it's called La Raza. [Brian: Mm Hmm.] And the concept of La Raza, if you look at the history of it, it's anti-black because it's taking and only emphasizing the Indigenous and European ancestry for Mexicans and not until like 30 years ago, they acknowledged the African ancestry that was there too. So I think in LA, we really have to be more sophisticated in our analysis of white supremacy, and how many people in our community perpetuate the long standing inequalities. There's solidarity in our movement, but there is still anti- blackness that is leading to the disproportionate suffering of black people all throughout LA County. And I hope that this reckoning that's about to happen allows for us to really look into that instead of just calling for people to resign.

Ange-Marie Hancock  05:27

Those things were really, really heartbreaking for me to hear as a voter, yes, you know, but but also just as a human being and a person who knew these people and thought these people shared my values.

Brian De Los Santos  05:39

This is Ange-Marie.

Ange-Marie Hancock  05:41

Ange-Marie Hancock, a professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies at USC.

Brian De Los Santos  05:47

I kinda just want to lead with this question: What are your thoughts, not just on the tape, but overall what this conversation and, and what this like uncovering really means for us here in Los Angeles?

Ange-Marie Hancock  05:59

When you're 50% of the population in Los Angeles County, your prime competitor is not the group that's only 6% of the population, or 7% of the population, you know. Your prime competitor is the next largest group. Punching down [laughs] instead of looking at the systems and the problems that face us together as black and brown people, I think there are some really soul searching conversations that we have to have. I've been in LA for 15 years. I've heard a lot about younger generation folks being told to kind of wait their turn. And so you're kind of stuck waiting right, for this new politics, for this new way of engaging, but as my niece says to some older members of my family when they kind of go a little crazy, the younger generation needs to say that's not okay and shut it down. It can't just be Oh, that's just who they are, and we just gotta, you know, kind of roll with them until they decide to walk away. Even if that's an old guard thing, even if that's a jokey joke thing, because it's not okay. And so I do wonder- the younger generation, you've been told to wait your turn, but but maybe you shouldn't wait your turn. Maybe it should be a new, younger, more progressive person who's gonna come in with a different kind of politics.

Brian De Los Santos  07:16

I'm curious, you know, these elected officials stepping down, being removed from office, walking away from politics, does it solve anything?

Ange-Marie Hancock  07:25

I think it sends an important signal. I do feel like it was appropriate for Nury Martinez to resign the council presidency. In my dream world, they would not actually resign their seats on the city council, there would arise new leaders, who would challenge them in their next election, [Brian: Mmm.] around a vision that is much more kind of focused on solidarity across people of color, across queer and LGBT folks, across immigrant communities. If they were to resign today, I would be very concerned that there would be a political machine that would hand pick [music in] whoever the next person is going to be to run, like call up the next person say it's your turn. Now you run, right? [Brian: Hmm.] And we might just get the same old politics that we've had so far that we don't like.

Brian De Los Santos  08:24

I want to read a Tweet from another person in the Latino community who is Oaxacan, and you might have gone to her restaurant, um Guelaguetza, [Ange-Marie: Oh, yes.] Bricia Lopez: The words out of Nury Martinez's mouth cut deep in the Oaxacan community of LA. I've dealt with my fair share of racism, but it's 10 times worse when it comes from a brown person and a woman. Girl, you gotta resign.

Ange-Marie Hancock  08:48

Yeah, I mean... Okay, let me pause. [Brian: Yeah. Totally.] [Ange-Marie laughing] I could say a lot here. I'm gonna try and say it as carefully as possible. I'll go this way. I'm a big fan of Robert Chao Romero. He has this fantastic book called Brown Church about the impact of colonialism that still lingers on our communities. And I really feel like that is part of what's going on in the comments that Nury Martinez made about the Oaxacan community. When someone who not just is supposed to represent you, but someone who also is a part of the larger community that you identify with, [music in] is now saying you technically don't belong, and where did you come from, you know, I mean, I think those are some of the most painful words that any person who's from an immigrant community can hear.

Brian De Los Santos  09:44

Alright, y'all. Thank you for listening to this conversation. There's more information about this in our newsletter too. Go check it out at LAist.com/HowToLA. From LAist Studios, I'm Brian De Los Santos. Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live. This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people. Thanks for tuning in. See ya mañana. [music out]

Brian De Los Santos  10:17

Okay guys, quick update. After we published this episode, more voices joined the call for Martinez to resign. That included Senator Alex Padilla and Mayor Eric Garcetti. On Tuesday morning, she announced a leave of absence. The president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Ron Herrera, he resigned as well. You can keep up with the latest on LAist.com.