Oral Histories

Interview of Robin Cannon

Founder of Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles and of Communities for Accountable Reinvestment. Co-chair of the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice.
Series:
Mitigating Poverty in the City of Angels: Interviews with Affordable Housing and Social Welfare Activists
Topic:
Social Movements
Community Activism
Biographical Note:
Founder of Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles and of Communities for Accountable Reinvestment. Co-chair of the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice.
Interviewer:
Collings, Jane
Interviewee:
Cannon, Robin
Persons Present:
Cannon and Collings.
Place Conducted:
Lawndale Community Center in Lawndale, California.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
The interview was conducted by Jane Collings, interviewer and senior editor, Center for Oral History Research; B.A., Communications, Antioch College; M.A., Communications, University of Iowa; Ph.D., Critical Studies, UCLA.
Processing of Interview:
The interviewer prepared a timed log of the audio recording of the interview. Cannon was given the opportunity to review the log in order to supply missing or misspelled names and to verify the accuracy of the content. The corrections made were entered into the text without further editing or review on the part of the Center for Oral History Research staff.
Length:
3.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Audio:
Series Statement:
The series documents affordable housing activism in the Los Angeles area with particular attention to the work of community development corporations. Additional interviews document the work of social justice activists whose work concerns both the low income housing crisis in the city as well as the ways that income inequality impacts the daily life of the most vulnerable among us.
Early life, family background and schooling; Volunteer activities in the neighborhood, including help with the Black Panthers’ Free Breakfast Program; Learns about the Los Angeles City Energy Recovery Project (LANCER) incinerator to be sited in the neighborhood; Organizes a community group against the project.
The first meetings of Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles (CCSCLA), a community group organized to fight against the LANCER project; Coordination between CCSCLA and a Westside environmental group, Not Yet New York (NYNY), as well as other groups in the L.A. metropolitan area, including California Alliance in Defense of Residential Environments (CADRE); Support for the efforts against LANCER from the UCLA Urban Planning School; The formation of the UCLA Community Scholars Program; Racism in media coverage of LANCER struggle; CCSCLA efforts to lobby then gubernatorial candidate Mayor Tom Bradley.
CCSCLA work with the Vernon Central Merchant’s Association to keep banking resources in the community; CCSCLA pushback against West LA Homeowners' proposal for a 1.5 story limit on building; CCSLA participation in the Community Benefits Agreement with Anschutz Entertainment Group regarding the impacts of the Staples Center project; the UCLA Community Scholars Program; The Neighborhood Advantage Program; The Communities for Accountable Re-investment initiative; Gilda Haas; Madeline Janis founds A New Economy For All (known as LAANE).
CCSCLA work with the Vernon Central Merchant’s Association to keep banking resources in the community; CCSCLA pushback against West LA Homeowners' proposal for a 1.5 story limit on building; CCSLA participation in the Community Benefits Agreement with Anschutz Entertainment Group regarding the impacts of the Staples Center project; the UCLA Community Scholars Program; The Neighborhood Advantage Program; The Communities for Accountable Re-investment initiative; Gilda Haas; Madeline Janis founds A New Economy For All (known as LAANE).
CCSCLA work in the areas of housing, banking, and redevelopment; CCSCLA developments: Roberta Stevens Villas and Juanita Tate Shopping Center; The work of People Organizing for Workplace and Environmental Rights (POWER), a community advocacy initiative; Cannon’s work with the SouthWest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice and the Petra Foundation; Cannon’s lifelong commitment to social justice.