About 26 activists, students and teachers gathered on the corner of Griffin Avenue and Broadway in Lincoln heights. The backdrop was the old abandoned Bi-Rite supermarket and weed covered parking lot. More than half were students from Abraham Lincoln High School who came together to voice their thoughts and dissatisfaction with the state of their neighborhood through their action, “Bye Bye Bi Rite.”
12 students organized this action as part of their internship with the Roots for Peace Program of American Friends Service Committee. This action was their strategic response to counter the effects of gentrification and their final class project. Their study, revealed 44% of the businesses were fast food, while 25% were liquor and convenience stores. They broke it down even further to say “1 out of 10 are fresh produce markets” indicating that the neighborhood lacked adequate food sources. As part of their event, they created a “vision wall” to allow community members to share ideas for these empty lots. Meanwhile they chanted, “Whose streets?! Our streets!!”
Lincoln Heights is in the early stages of gentrification. The students’ recommendations include developing more fresh food oriented businesses, using the empty Bi Rite lot for an organic farmers market for residents, and developing more youth-centered spaces. This action represented a proactive response to gentrification and one step towards strengthening and securing the local identity of their community.
Organizations in attendance and showing solidarity included the Northeast Los Angeles Alliance; El Sereno Against Gentrification; South East Asian Community Alliance; and a local chapter of the Sierra Club. The American Friends Service Committee sponsored action with support from Abraham Lincoln High School and Los Angeles Food Policy Council.