Reparations Bill Proposed For Families Displaced By Dodger Stadium

Bruce Haring
·1 min read
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Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo has introduced a bill seeking reparations for the families forcibly evicted from the land where Dodger Stadium now sits.

The land was originally a close-knit, predominantly Mexican-American community. The evictions came through a deal by city officials anxious to get Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley to move his team from Brooklyn. The efforts to repossess the land lasted approximately ten years (1951–1961).

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Accounts claim many families were pressured to sell or forced out using eminent domain. Eventually, the holdouts were physically removed by law enforcement before their homes were bulldozed.

Carillo held a news conference on Friday to announce the legislation, Carrillo said Assembly Bill 1950, known as the Chavez Ravine Accountability Act, aims to correct a mistake that’s “lingered in the shadows of Los Angeles’ Eastside history for far too long.”

The bill calls for creating a public database with information about the events involving the city’s land acquisition and for reparations. The plan also calls for city-owned land to be given to the displaced families and market-rate compensation.

She also seeks a permanent memorial to honor the displaced families.

“With this legislation, we are addressing the past, giving voice to this injustice, acknowledging the pain of those displaced, offering reparative measures and ensuring that we honor and remember the legacy of the families and the communities” of Palo Verde, La Loma and Bishop, Carrillo said.

Mayor Karen Bass and the Dodgers have not yet commented on Carillo’s plan.

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