Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo has introduced a bill seeking reparations for the families who lost their homes decades ago when Los Angeles city leaders pressured them to sell their land – and in some cases forcibly evicted many homeowners – from the area where Dodger Stadium sits today.
The land was originally the site of three predominantly Mexican-American communities known as Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop – today’s Chavez Ravine.
In the 1950s, Los Angeles city leaders wanted to build public housing for low-income residents on that land.
According to historic accounts, the families were pressured to sell their property to the city or forced out using eminent domain. And those who refused to leave were physically removed by law enforcement before their homes were bulldozed.
Those families were promised first dibs on homes in the new housing development. But that housing never materialized. Instead, city leaders changed their minds and ultimately offered the land to then-Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley to lure the team from Brooklyn, New York.
During a news conference Friday, March 22, to announce the introduction of her legislation, Carrillo said Assembly Bill 1950, known as the Chavez Ravine Accountability Act, aims to correct an injustice 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.
Carrillo wants the city to offer city-owned land to the families displaced decades ago — land that is comparable to what they once had. She also wants to see market-rate compensation — adjusted for inflation — to repay what these families lost.
In addition, the bill calls for establishing 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,…
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