Abandoned Library in South Central Los Angeles Liberated, Evicted
INGLEWOOD, CA — Around 9am this morning, youth from South Central LA, Watts, Inglewood, and Compton liberated the LA City Library’s Hyde Park branch on Crenshaw and 66th. The library has been vacant since 2004 and is located in one of LA County’s poorest neighborhoods, not far from one of the major flash points of the Rodney King riots.
The action was intended to keep the building open to provide programming and services to the community, including free food, employment and health workshops, and classes for high school students who have been through the criminal justice system or are at risk.
LAPD officers arrived within an hour–apparently alarmed that young people of color were trying to enter a library–