Series:

Los Angeles Anti-Police Violence Movement

Topic:

Civil Liberties

Biographical Note:

Performance and video artist, educator, and producer of the Message to the Grassroots program hosted by Michael Zinzun on Pasadena public-access television.

Interviewer:

Helps, David

Interviewee:

Buchanan, Nancy

Persons Present:

Helps and Buchanan.

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 David Helps, PhD candidate in History at the University of Michigan, as part of the research for his dissertation project (M.A. History, University of Toronto; B.A. Hon. History, McGill University). Helps’ dissertation explores policing and anti-police activism in Los Angeles between the early 1970s and the early 1990s.To prepare for these interviews, the interviewer consulted the interviewee’s artist website, and the historical archive of the Los Angeles Times, and episodes of Message to the Grassroots housed in the Media Burn digital archive.

Processing of Interview:

The transcript is a verbatim transcription of the recording. The interviewee was given an opportunity to review the transcript but made no corrections or additions.

Length:

2 hrs

Language:

English

Audio:

Series Statement:

Between the early 1970s and the mid-1990s, thousands of people participated in protests, political campaigns, community organizing, and other activism related to issues of police violence in the Los Angeles area. This series documents this area of activism, including the work of the Coalition Against Police Abuse, the Police Misconduct Lawyers Referral Service (today Police Watch), and the Pasadena public-access television show Message to the Grassroots, hosted by Michael Zinzun. Through interviews with community organizers, police misconduct attorneys, and people with direct experience of police violence, the series shines a light on a crucial moment in the history of Los Angeles and the United States. In addition to documenting activism around policing, this series also explores participants’ experiences with other social justice struggles, such as Black Power, the anti-apartheid/Southern Africa freedom movement, the women’s movement, the labor movement, the Central American solidarity movement, immigrant rights defense, and activism against racism in the Los Angeles school system.The interviews were conducted in the aftermath of the 2020 uprisings against police violence across the United States following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the police killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.

Note:

The interviewer retained copyright.

Childhood in LA—Parents’ political orientation and deaths—More on childhood in LA—Relationship with grandparents—Education and art practice—Activism at UCI—Service work—Work as legal secretary—Teaching at the Los Angeles Women’s Building—Political causes—Meeting Michael Zinzun—Zinzun and public access video—Involvement with CAPA—Scholarship on Latasha Harlins—Living in Pasadena—Gentrification of Mt Washington—How people became involved in CAPA—Distribution of Message to the Grassroots show—Episode on Bush’s first invasion of Iraq—Documenting gang truce—Issues covered in show—Don Jackson’s and John Burton’s abuse—39th and Dalton raid—Black Lives Matter and police review board campaign

Taping Justice for Janitors event-- Operation Weed and Seed and history of racist criminalization of young people—Young black women’s organizing—Injustice in murder of Latasha Harlins-- Mothers Reclaiming Our Children and more on black women’s organizing—Racism and abuses leading up to 92 rebellion—Michael’s critique of capitalism—Covering King beating and failure of broadcast news—Problematic documentary on 1992 rebellion—Erasure of Michael from histories—Reginald Denny tape—Worry for students during Rebellion--Ted Koppel—Importance of witnessing and recording abuses—Terminology for 1992 uprising—Lack of change over the years and some hope for the future—Ineffective rebuilding efforts—Ongoing structural violence—Experience at Michael Brown protest and other protests—Organizing accomplishments