"We are fighting to not have Altadena become California's Katrina, where you have all those Black citizens and their generational wealth that they were passing on to their children just lost and never regained. Crump said at a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, expressing concern that the county's inadequate fire response could result in permanent economic devastation to the historically Black community similar to Hurricane Katrina's impact."
"Attorney Ben Crump has joined the growing ranks of officials and community leaders concerned that the county's response in Altadena's historically Black neighborhoods during the Eaton fire was lacking compared with that for the whiter communities threatened by the blaze, with west Altadena receiving evacuation alerts hours after flames threatened the area."
Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney who represented families in high-profile cases including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Trayvon Martin, announced he is gathering evidence for a potential federal discrimination lawsuit against Los Angeles County regarding its response to the Eaton fire. Crump alleges that the county's response in Altadena's historically Black neighborhoods was inadequate compared to its response in whiter communities. West Altadena residents received evacuation alerts hours later than residents in wealthier, whiter areas. This investigation follows a civil rights probe opened by the California attorney general examining potential disparities in fire preparations and response. Crump suspects racism contributed to the botched response that devastated west Altadena and expressed concern about preventing the area from becoming another example of generational wealth loss in Black communities.
#civil-rights-litigation #eaton-fire-response #racial-discrimination #altadena #environmental-justice
Read at Los Angeles Times
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