The Garden Film notes - Rodriguez 1 WRT 101 Summer 2010 Dr...

Rodriguez 1
WRT 101 Summer 2010
Dr. Susan San Jule
Itzel Rodriguez
June 14, 2010
1.
What is the formal name of the garden that was located in South Central Los Angeles?
The formal name of the garden that use to be in South Central Los Angeles was The South
Central Farm.
2.
The development of the idea of the garden came about as a concession following what
events?
In 1992 the worse riots in LA started because cops beat up Rodney King. The riots didn’t start
because of the actual beating of this man. They started after the trials where the four cops that
nearly killed Rodney King were found not guilty. The riots lasted 3 days. There were 53 killed
and 4 thousand injured. There was1 billion dollar damage. In order to pacify the community, they
started the community garden.
3.
The city of Los Angeles handed over the land to what particular group who would then
assign plots?
It was given to the Regional Food Bank and the main person in charge of it was Doris Bloch who
was not part of the city council or any kind of government job. The Regional Food Bank was to
then assign the plots to whomever they wished.
4.
There were conditions tied to the use of the land by gardeners. What were the conditions?
A. you couldn’t sell anything you grew. B. One plot per family. C. The city said that it wasn’t
theirs and if they wanted the land back they could take it back given them 30 days to get out. D.
The other condition was that the families had to apply for the government and based on their
income and needs they were rejected or accepted.
5.
The land for the gardens came to be in the city of LA’s hands through what transaction?

Rodriguez 2
Under eminent domain the city pretty much took away the land from Ralph Horwtz. He did get 5
million dollars for it but that was not even close to how much the land really cost. Ralph owned
the land originally and the city wanted that land for an incinerator (it burns garbage) for 5 million
dollars. Eminent domain was done to Ralph for the good of the city. They were going to have it in
a poor place. Juanita Tate and her group fought it and they were able to stop the incinerator. After
they stopped the incinerator they made the land into a huge garden.
6.
What does “eminent domain” mean in relation to the land that the gardens sat on?
If a city wants a piece of land and you or I own it and they decide its best for them to have the
land they can go through a process and take it back. In this case, Ralph was forced to sell the land
to the government because they wanted to use it for the good of the city in order to build an
incinerator.