by Adriana García So, PLA
Environmental justice concerns in Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) exist around toxic byproducts from manufacturing plants and incinerators that contaminate cities like Bell and Maywood’s air, soil, and water. Urban infrastructure like the 710 South Freeway, which connects to the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, traverses SELA communities and exposes them to elevated truck diesel and traffic fumes. East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ) and Communities for a Better Environment have organized their members throughout SELA to fight off polluting projects and engage in visioning for alternatives that elevate the need for additional and improved green space along the 710 corridor. (See the Sleepy Lagoon Memorial website for a context map.)
Parallels between environmental injustice and the Sleepy Lagoon Murder can be drawn in the context of the neighborhood’s historically industrial landscape and the community’s lack of access to green space and recreation. The Sleepy Lagoon was a reservoir and popular swimming hole in the City of Bell, a racially segregated and historically redlined neighborhood in SELA. An incident took place in 1942 at the Sleepy Lagoon that resulted in the murder of Jose Gallardo Diaz, which led to widespread prejudice, discrimination, and racial profiling across Los Angeles of Pachucxs, an interracial youth subculture identified by their zoot suits. This murder resulted in racial profiling, criminalization, media attacks, and public violence targeting zoot suiters. Today, the Sleepy Lagoon no longer exists and in its place stands the Bell Business Center.
