4/7/2024 0 Comments Susan nicola santa monica![]() IVAN HOUSTON: He recognized things that were unfair. He knew very well at the time that he was defying a covenant attached to the house he bought in 1938. But some white homeowners willingly violated these covenants to sell to Black buyers, in part because those buyers were willing to pay more since there was less property available to them.ĬHANG: The first known black person to buy a home in Sugar Hill was Norman O. MEHTA: And courts helped enforce these rules. In 1940, 80% of the properties in Los Angeles had these restrictions attached to them. These covenants were basically agreements written into property deeds that made homeowners promise never to sell to African Americans or other minority groups. And it was everywhere.ĬHANG: Everywhere in the U.S., including in Sugar Hill. And he would show how the covenants were worded - no Blacks, no Jews, just blatant hate. R NICKERSON: When my father would talk about covenants - as a child, I worked with him in his real estate business - and covenants were alive and thriving, you know. Ra Nickerson remembers her dad explaining this to her when she was really young. ![]() MEHTA: This thriving community in Sugar Hill existed despite a powerful tool that white residents were using to keep neighborhoods white - the racially restrictive covenant. On screen, she may have played a housekeeper or an enslaved person, but here in Sugar Hill, she hosted extravagant soirees in her sprawling mansion where people like Duke Ellington and Ethel Waters would perform. By the 1940s, Sugar Hill was home to some of the most prominent figures of Black Los Angeles - doctors, entrepreneurs, oil barons, even Hollywood stars like "Gone With the Wind's" Hattie McDaniel. And we'd go up and down the streets selling lemonades.ĬHANG: Berkeley Square was part of a larger neighborhood called Sugar Hill, which was named after a wealthy Black section in Harlem. And we sell lemonade at the east end of Berkeley Square. There were all kinds of, like, craftsman houses - five, six, seven bedrooms. They lived in a charming little pocket of central Los Angeles called Berkeley Square. ![]() Van was just 3 years old, his sister Ra was 4 when their family moved here almost 70 years ago. MEHTA: Their house is now where the Santa Monica Freeway is. VAN NICKERSON: What she's pointing to, right there where that sign says this quarter next 3 exit, lift it up, our house is right about there. R NICKERSON: Yeah, that's where Berkeley Square was. JONAKI MEHTA, BYLINE: This is what Ra (ph) and Van Nickerson's (ph) childhood home sounds like today. The story of Sugar Hill brings to life many of these ideas we just talked about - segregation, racist covenants and who has the right to live where. We're going to go back in time now and visit a neighborhood in Los Angeles that no longer exists. I look forward to a hard-fought campaign where we honestly explore this and all the other pressing issues facing Santa Monica renters and our broader community.All right. If elected, I will fight to keep Santa Monica's neighborhoods livable and ensure that we renters are safe and secure in our homes! I have already begun working with current Rent Board members on a proposal for City Council to increase Relocation Assistance for renters subject to Ellis Act evictions. Unfortunately, Santa Monica tenants and our neighborhoods continue to be at risk due to Ellis evictions, and companies avoiding regulations and turning homes into exorbitant corporate housing. Without Rent Control, there would be no place in Santa Monica for middle-income folks like me, let alone people like my veteran clients who are mostly seniors and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes. I am running because we need a new voice on the Board to ensure that Santa Monica neighborhoods and tenants who live in our community are protected. I am a veterans' rights attorney and longtime Santa Monica tenant and I am running as a challenger for Santa Monica Rent Control Board! ![]() Hello everyone - This is my first time running for public office and I would like to introduce myself and explain what I'm about. Why I'm Running for Rent Control Board by Naomi Sultan
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