LA JAZZ FESTIVAL FOUNDATION

ON JUNE 17TH 2023 A STRETCH OF JEFFERSON BOULEVARD IN LOS ANGELES WAS OFFICIALLY NAMED THE "NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR." THE NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR NAMING CEREMONY AND COMMUNITY CELEBRATION WAS HELD AND ATTENDED BY DIGNITARIES MAYOR KAREN BASS, COUNCILMEMBER HEATHER HUTT, NEW ORLEANS MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL AND OTHER POLITICAL, LABOR AND CORPORATE LEADERS THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA. BETWEEN 1883 AND 1970, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CREOLE FAMILIES ESCAPED THE BRUTALITIES OF SLAVERY AND THE RACIST INSTITUTION OF JIM CROW IN LOUISIANA FOR BETTER LIVES ON THE WEST COAST. MANY SETTLED IN THE JEFFERSON PARK COMMUNITY OF LOS ANGELES, CREATING THE LARGEST CREOLE COMMUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES OUTSIDE OF LOUISIANA. KNOWN AS THE GREAT MIGRATION AND THE 2ND GREAT MIGRATION, THIS EXODUS WAS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SOCIAL-IMPACT STORIES IN AMERICAN HISTORY, WITH NEARLY 18% OF THE 1950'S BLACK POPULATION IN LOS ANGELES BEING FROM LOUISIANA. HOLY NAME OF JESUS CHRIST CHURCH ON JEFFERSON BOULEVARD SERVED AS AN ELLIS ISLAND FOR THOUSANDS AND A KEY CONNECTOR TO JOBS, HOUSING, AND REUNIFICATION FOR FAMILIES FLEEING THE SOUTH. THIS HISTORY MAKING CELEBRATION INCLUDED A NOLA-TO-LA CULTURAL TOURISM ROUNDTABLE, A RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY, 2ND LINE PARADE FOLLOWED BY A COMMUNITY CONCERT AND A VIP ARTISTS RECEPTION.NAME OF PROGRAM OR PROJECT: NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR NAMING & RIBBON CUTTING EVENTBRIEF PROGRAM DESCRIPTION : THE NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR DESIGNATION AN LAJFF MAJOR INITIATIVE WAS REALIZED ON JUNE 17, 2023 WHEN LOS ANGELES MAYOR KAREN BASS, AND NEW ORLEANS MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL ALONG WITH A HOST OF DIGNITARIES, AND THOUSANDS OF LOS ANGELENOS, CELEBRATED DESIGNATION OF THE NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR ALONG A STRETCH OF JEFFERSON BOULEVARD FROM ST. ANDREWS PLACE TO 10TH AVENUE IN HONOR OF THE NEW ORLEANS CREOLE HERITAGE OF ANGELENOS WHOSE ANCESTORS MIGRATED FROM LOUISIANA TO THE CITY OF ANGELS DURING THE SECOND GREAT MIGRATION. FROM ITS INCEPTION, LAJFF SAW ITS MISSION WAS TO TEACH THE STORY AND HISTORY OF JAZZ AS THE PRACTICE OF FREEDOM, ESPECIALLY IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES WHERE JAZZ IS SELDOM HEARD, MUCH LESS TAUGHT. IT FOCUSED ITS ENERGY ON EXPLORING THE HISTORICAL ROOTS OF JAZZ IN NEW ORLEANS AND ITS MIGRATION TO THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES. MUCH OF THAT HISTORY HAD BEEN ERASED OR FORGOTTEN JUST AS THE STORY OF CALIFORNIA'S BRUCE'S BEACH, HAD BEEN ERASED. LAJFF SET OUT TO RESTORE THIS LEGACY. THEIR RESEARCH LED THE ORGANIZATION TO A TIME BEFORE THE EMERGENCE OF LA'S FAMOUS CENTRAL AVENUE SCENE AND TO THE HOME OF MANY CENTRAL AVENUE MUSICIANS, STORE OWNERS AND CUSTOMERS WHO MIGRATED TO A PART OF LOS ANGELES CALLED JEFFERSON PARK, CLOSE TO LAJFF'S HOME. ONE SUCH RESIDENT WAS ROBERT FOSTER, SUBJECT OF THE PULITZER PRIZE WINNING NON-FICTION BOOK BY ISABEL WILKERSON, THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS. FOSTER LEFT LOUISIANA IN 1953, SETTLED IN THE JEFFERSON PARK / CRENSHAW SECTION OF LOS ANGELES AND EVENTUALLY BECAME THE DOCTOR FOR ANOTHER MIGRANT FROM THE DEEP SOUTH, RAY CHARLES. LAJFF'S RESEARCH EFFORTS COALESCED AROUND A COMMUNITY OF JEFFERSON PARK RESIDENTS, HISTORIANS, LOCAL POLITICIANS AND OTHERS SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND THEIR TIES TO NEW ORLEANS AND NEARBY. THEIR WORK LED TO A SEMINAL PROGRAM HELD AT A LOCAL LA CREOLE RESTAURANT AND INSTITUTION, HAROLD & BELLE'S. THERE, THE GROUP MET TO DECIDE HOW BEST TO CELEBRATE THE IMMINENT DESIGNATION OF A PART OF JEFFERSON PARK AS THE NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR.HISTORIC BACKGROUND : BETWEEN 1883 AND 1970, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CREOLE FAMILIES IN LOUISIANA LEFT THE SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL POLICIES OF JIM CROW BEHIND TO SEEK BETTER LIVES ON THE WEST COAST. MANY SETTLED IN THE JEFFERSON PARK COMMUNITY OF LOS ANGELES, CREATING THE LARGEST CREOLE COMMUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES OUTSIDE OF LOUISIANA. KNOWN AS THE GREAT MIGRATION AND THE 2ND GREAT MIGRATION, THIS EXODUS WAS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SOCIAL-IMPACT STORIES IN AMERICAN HISTORY, WITH NEARLY 18% OF THE 1950'S BLACK POPULATION IN LOS ANGELES BEING FROM LOUISIANA. HOLY NAME OF JESUS CHRIST CHURCH ON JEFFERSON BOULEVARD SERVED AS AN ELLIS ISLAND FOR THOUSANDS AND A KEY CONNECTOR TO JOBS, HOUSING, AND REUNIFICATION FOR FAMILIES FLEEING THE SOUTH.WHAT AUDIENCES EXPERIENCED : THE NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR EVENT CONSISTEDOF A RIBBON CUTTING WITH LOCAL LEADERS AND CELEBRITIES, FOLLOWED BY VARIOUS FESTIVITIES, INCLUDING A SECOND LINE, FROM A NEW ORLEANS BASED GROUP, A VIP RECEPTION AND CONCERT.DATE: JUNE 17, 2023TARGET AUDIENCE : THE RESIDENTS OF THE NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR, CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 10, INGLEWOOD, COMPTON AND SOUTH LA AND OTHER NEARBY COMMUNITIES WHO TRACE THEIR ROOTS TO NEW ORLEANS AND SURROUNDING PARISHES AND ADJOINING STATES.NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 2,500DESCRIPTION OF PARTICIPANTS: U.S. CONGRESS WOMAN MAXINE WATERS; LOS ANGELES MAYOR KAREN BASS; NEW ORLEANS MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL; DANNY J. BAKEWELL, SR., (PUBLISHER OF THE SENTINEL, NEW ORLEANS NATIVE), MARTIN LUDLOW (FORMER CITY COUNCILMAN, DISTRICT 10); HERB WESSON (FORMERSPEAKER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY); INGLEWOOD MAYOR JAMES BUTTS; COUNCILWOMAN HEATHER HUTT (DISTRICT 10); FORMER LOS ANGELES MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA; FORMER SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR AND CALIFORNIA SPEAKER WILLIE BROWN; WARNER WILLIAMS (VICE PRESIDENT, CHEVRON OF NORTH AMERICAEXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION, LOUISIANA RESIDENT); DOUG MOORE (UDW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR); THE NEW ORLEANS BRASS BAND, FERNANDO PULLUM YOUTH CENTER BAND; MEMBERS OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS CATHOLIC CHURCH; IRVINE LA JAZZ FESTIVAL FOUNDATION MAYFIELD (NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT); OTHER GRAMMY AWARD WINNING ARTISTS SUCH AS JOYN CLAYTON (AND THE LAJFF ALL STAR BAND), TERRACE MARTIN, LARRANCE DOPSON, JAMES FAUNTLEROY II; THE FREEDOM CHOIR; TV/RADIO PERSONALITY DOMINIGUE DIPRIMA: REPRESENTATIVES FROM MANY OF OUR SPONSORS, BOEING, (THE) BROAD FOUNDATION, CADIZ, INC, CHEVRON, CINDY AND ALAN HORN FOUNDATION, COMMUNITY BUILD, CRUISE, (THE) DAVID BOHNETT FOUNDATION, GOOGLE, IBEW LOCAL 11, LA FEDERATION OF LABOR, (THE) LOS ANGELES LAKERS, LYFT (ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY ALLIANCE), MARCY CARSEY: CARSEY LIVING TRUST, NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE, SCLRC, SEIU LOCAL 2015, TARGET, TEAMSTERS BLACK CAUCUS, UCLA HEALTH, UFCW 770, UNITED DOMESTIC WORKERS (UDW), USC; AND BASKETBALL LEGEND, AND UCLA MEDICAL CENTER BOARD MEMBER, KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR. FINALLY, HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS OF LOS ANGELES WHO ARE PART OF THE NEW ORLEANS DIASPORA.DESCRIPTION OF SUCCESS OR CHALLENGES : THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE AND ULTIMATELY THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM WAS MANAGING THE EXUBERANCE THAT TOOK HOLD ONCE THE FORCES OF POLITICS, LOCAL COMMUNITY, HISTORY AND SENTIMENT CAME TOGETHER IN EARLY 2023. RECALL, THAT ON MAY 11, 2023, THE CDC DECLARED THE OFFICIAL END OF THE PANDEMIC. WHAT FOLLOWED WAS A PERIOD WHEN PEOPLE WERE VENTURING OUT INTO PUBLIC SPACES EN MASSE, OR MAKING PLANS TO. MEANWHILE, AND OVER THE PRIOR TWO YEARS, LAJFF WAS DOING EXTENSIVE GROUNDWORK TO MAKE THE CASE FOR A NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR DESIGNATION. ON MAY 19, 2023, AN ORGANIZING COMMITTEE MET TO DISCUSS SOME KIND OF CELEBRATION TO HONOR THE DESIGNATION OF THE NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR. DURING THE MEETING GATHERING MOMENTUM HELPED DECIDE A DATE TO COINCIDE WITH THE UPCOMING JUNETEENTH CELEBRATIONS. WHAT WAS ENVISIONED TO BE A SMALLER CELEBRATION EARLIER IN THE SAME YEAR, EVOLVED INTO PLANS FOR A SPRAWLING EVENT THAT INCLUDED A STREET CLOSURE AND RIBBON CUTTING ATTENDED BY SCORES OF HEADLINE CELEBRITIES; A VIP RECEPTION AND CONCERT. THE SPIRIT AND IMPORTANCE OF THE PROGRAM CARRIED EVERYONE TO DO THEIR BEST. THE NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR LAUNCH WAS INSPIRED BY MANY OF THE SAME FACTORS THAT IGNITED THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT. THE CHALLENGE OF THE PROGRAM WAS TO MAKE SOMETHING POSITIVE OUT OF HISTORICAL AND ONGOING INJUSTICE. IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, THAT GOAL IS EXEMPLIFIED IN THE STORY OF BRUCE'S BEACH. AFTER YEARS OF SUCCESSFUL OPERATION, THE CITY OF MANHATTAN BEACH WRONGFULLY CONFISCATED THE PROPERTY AND THE BRUCE'S WERE FORCED OUT OF BUSINESS. INCREDIBLY, AFTER 100 YEARS OF INJUSTICE, MOMENTUM FROM POSITIVE SOCIAL JUSTICE FORCES LED THE CITY OF MANHATTAN BEACH RETURNING THE LAND TO THE CLOSEST LIVING HEIRS OF THE BRUCE'S WITHIN A YEAR FROM APRIL 2021 WHEN LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISORS BEGAN THE EFFORT TO DO SO. THE AREA OF JEFFERSON PARK AND NEARBY NEIGHBORHOODS EVOLVED FROM THE HISTORICAL WRONGS THAT PREVENTED AFRICAN AMERICANS FROM SETTLING IN MANHATTAN BEACH, AND MOST OTHER PARTS OF LA. NEVERTHELESS, THE RESIDENTS WHO SETTLED IN THE AREA OF THE NEW ORLEANS CORRIDOR CREATED A VIBRANT COMMUNITY THAT BECAME AN ENGINE FOR LA'S GROWTH AND PROSPERITY OVER THE FOLLOWING DECADES.