22: William Grant Still Arts Center, Mid-City L.A.

22: William Grant Still Arts Center, Mid-City L.A.
Designed by: AISE
Piano type: Spinet
Playability: Good
Weather: 75°F, sunny, hazy
How I got here: Car, walking

I sing and play music in my church's gospel choir at St. Agatha's on Adams & La Brea, and there's a street piano just three blocks away! So I thought the best way to play my 22nd piano was to bring some of my choirmates with me. Eddie (our choir director), Shane, Dorothy, their daughter Scarlett, Lorna, Linda, Donal and Jaccoma joined me to walk the three blocks to the piano at William Grant Still Arts Center (which I never knew existed before the pianos), to sing and play!

Today, April 29, was the 20th anniversary of the L.A. Riots. As we waited at the church before going down the street, some of us shared our Riots recollections. I was a student at USC at the time and lived at home, so I was unable to escape the reach of the Riots either way. Jaccoma worked for campus security at USC (and also attended the KPCC forum event on April 11). The original building where the check cashing building currently stands next to the church right on the southwest corner of Adams and La Brea was burned down in 1992.

When we arrived, there was a blanket and some clothing on the floor of the front porch of the arts center.

Eddie got some playing time at the street piano as well.

While we were playing, a homeless woman sat outside while she was eating out of a can. I asked her if she was staying here, she said she was. Her name is Carol, and she sleeps here. I asked if she would like to get some help, and she said, "Yes." If anyone knows of any homeless service agencies that serve the Mid-City area (Adams & La Brea), there is someone here that needs shelter, assistance and resources. I'll be asking around, but if any of you know of any agencies that can come help her off the streets, I would totally appreciate it.

As we walked back down Adams, the evidence of urban blight was unavoidable: Overgrown weeds, discarded furniture on the sidewalks, trash and graffiti. My own neighborhood has blight as well, but it gets cleaned up every once in a while.

Several years ago, our church, other churches and businesses and residents in the neighborhood were actively lobbying in support of a redevelopment project along Adams between La Brea and Redondo that promised, among other things, a Costco and some new restaurants. A previous city councilmember was about to see it through, but the current councilman seems to have forgotten about the project, much to the chagrin of the community.

Despite the urban woes, there are still some wonderful people who live in this neighborhood, and I have seen some truly wonderful things happen around here with my own eyes.

Life has changed in our city and in our communities in the past 20 years, so we decided to sing something uplifting. I couldn't think of anything more appropriate than, "This Little Light of Mine":