Sahra Sulaiman

Sahra is Communities Editor for Streetsblog L.A., covering the intersection of mobility with race, class, history, representation, policing, housing, health, culture, community, and access to the public space in Boyle Heights and South Central Los Angeles.

Recent Posts

Twenty-five-year old Fred Williams III was killed in Willowbrook by Los Angeles County Sheriffs on October 16. A medical examiner's inquest into his death was held January 28, 2021. Photo source: family gofundme.

LASD Won’t Name Deputies Involved in Killing of Fred Williams III at Otherwise Uninformative Inquest

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 1, 2021 | No Comments

LASD once again proves unwilling to cooperate in an inquest into a questionable shooting by a deputy.

Documentary by Gardena High Alum Centers Stories of L.A.’s Unhoused Black Women

By Joe Linton and Sahra Sulaiman | Dec 22, 2020 | No Comments

Watch Zorrie Petrus' film 'Defining Ourselves For Ourselves: Unhoused, Black, and Female in L.A.'

The 124-unit mixed use project replacing the car wash at 4218-4248 S. Crenshaw Blvd. was just approved by the Planning Commission. It will next head to City Council for final approval. It is one of several changing the landscape along the corridor.

124-Unit Project at 4242 S. Crenshaw Approved by City Planning

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 10, 2020 | No Comments

The largely market-rate project is one of over half a dozen that were recently completed or are in the works along Crenshaw between Exposition and 61st.

A view of the courtyard of the SEED school looking northward. The lots the project will rise on stood vacant for nearly 30 years. It will open its doors to students in the fall of 2022.

Metro’s Transportation Boarding School Breaks Ground at Vermont/Manchester

By Sahra Sulaiman | Oct 28, 2020 | No Comments

"Groundbreaking celebrated without construction to follow had been the norm at a certain point," said Ridley-Thomas. "But no more."

Screengrab from the Sheriff's press conference on the killing of 29-year-old Dijon Kizzee. Two videos obtained from Kizzee's phone were shown to prove the gun found at the scene was his. The audio was removed from the videos, LASD said, because the song Kizzee was listening to contained vulgarities. But the intention seemed to be to present him as menacing, rather than being true to what he actually doing, which was showing off a bit while enjoying some music.

Video Provided by Sheriffs Directly Contradicts Their Own Account of Killing of Dijon Kizzee

By Sahra Sulaiman | Sep 18, 2020 | No Comments

The 2nd deputy doesn't draw his gun until nearly 2 seconds after Kizzee's gun has skittered along the ground to its final resting place

Jermaine Welch mourns the loss of rapper, artist, entrepreneur, and visionary Nipsey Hussle in this image from 2019. While out making deliveries just after midnight on June 3, Welch passed through an intersection on Broadway, just south of Manchester, and was shot six times, possibly by the LAPD. He has been under investigation ever since. Image courtesy Jermaine Welch.

Bystander Shot Six Times During Officer-Involved Shooting Left Homeless, Struggling to Recover while LAPD Treats Him as Suspect

By Sahra Sulaiman | Jul 14, 2020 | No Comments

“Wow, I wake up from my death and it was like I was in jail...I’m treated like a criminal," says Jermaine Welch. "[Yet] I'm the victim in this situation."

Bystander Shot Six Times During Officer-Involved Shooting Left Homeless, Struggling to Recover while LAPD Treats Him as Suspect

By Sahra Sulaiman | Jul 13, 2020 | No Comments

“Wow, I wake up from my death and it was like I was in jail...I’m treated like a criminal," he says. "[Yet] I'm the victim in this situation."

Though the Liquor Bank will be demolished, Patrick Henry Johnson will repaint Elixir on the new structure. Rendering courtesy of the Design Review Board

Project Planned for Liquor Bank Site to Go Before Crenshaw Corridor Design Review Board Tonight

By Sahra Sulaiman | Jul 2, 2020 | No Comments

The Crenshaw Corridor Design Review Board is holding an online meeting to take a final look at the plans for the 64-unit project slated to go in at the site of the Liquor Bank, at Crenshaw and Stocker.

Gilbert Johnson, Lead Justice Organizer at Community Coalition (CoCo), speaks to the significance of this moment of rebellion while opening the nearly three-hour-long online discussion on the city budget priorities. CoCo had hosted the forum in collaboration with Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles and members of the People's Budget L.A. coalition this past Saturday.

Black and Brown Residents Speak to Urgency of Deep Systemic Transformation, Offer Insights Regarding Reinvestment

By Sahra Sulaiman | Jul 2, 2020 | No Comments

"We’re done paying for an institution that produces racism, violence, and poverty," said Carlos Cázares. "We are done talking. It’s time to put money where the people are at."

Officer Frank Hernández rains blows down on Richard Castillo while his partner stands by with her taser ready in Boyle Heights on April 27. Image captured from LAPD body cam footage.

How Beating of Unhoused Boyle Heights Man Exposes Woeful Inadequacy of LAPD Reform Proposals

By Sahra Sulaiman | Jun 23, 2020 | No Comments

Making the case for why, if L.A. is serious about reimagining public safety, it must embrace the conversation around defunding the police

A screengrab of Tupac Shakur performing To Live and Die in L.A. in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall in 1996. The mall is one of several L.A. landmarks featured in the video.

CIM Group Abandons Effort to Buy Crenshaw Mall; Community Members Take Victory Lap, Plan Next Steps

By Sahra Sulaiman | Jun 18, 2020 | No Comments

"When our community comes together we can achieve anything" - Akili

Tormented by a Bandit, Unhoused Residents Just Want to Be Left in Peace

By Sahra Sulaiman | May 9, 2020 | No Comments

A few feet down from where the handwashing station lies on its side, El Abuelo Travieso – a name that translates to the Naughty Grandfather (though he told me with a giggle that it translates to Grandpa Tush) – is spraying his arms and hands down with a liquid from a disinfectant bottle. He had […]

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