Newsletter Quarterly Insights, Feb 2026: Kaitwan Jackson
Kaitwan (pictured on the far right) standing with Executive Director, Karen Mack, and Partnerships Coordinator, Indeya Eubank (left), in front of the Vision Theater in Leimert Park
When I joined LA Commons, our placekeeping efforts were centered around one main initiative, Cultural Treasures of South LA (CTSLA). So to see the extent to which our work across placekeeping has grown in a matter of 3.5 years—yikes…dating myself—is pretty incredible. Placekeeping is still Cultural Treasures of South LA, but now in the mix are our property rights research project, Keeping Place for Culture, the Historic South LA Black Cultural District, and a handful of placekeeping-related smaller and shorter term projects.
The most incredible part is that every ounce of what LA Commons’ placekeeping encompasses today, is in some way a result of what we collectively consider the success of CTSLA, and in some way we have made a conscious effort to model our other placekeeping initiatives after CTSLA. This model is simple in essence, community first in all moments. No decisions are made without input or concern for the true experts, the community. And in every meeting, email, comment on a social media post, we listen to all input received and work as hard as we can to implement feedback.
We recently gave a presentation on our placekeeping work at a cultural asset-mapping conference hosted by the Getty Conservation Institute, and a thought we consistently turned to was that placekeeping is all about the process and journey. The “results/final product,” if ever they can be considered that, are an important piece, but pales in comparison to the relationships that grow from this type of work, and the endless and unimaginable opportunities that stem from them.
Trust me… I never imagined we would livestream an 8am concert from "Leimert Park to the world" as a part of the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad. And even then, while the day was mind-blowingly fun, what I look back on is the people we connected with and the conversations that brought this dream into reality.
Dwight Trible performing at the Pulsations event in front of the Vision Theater in Leimert Park.
And speaking of things coming to life, there’s nothing quite as relieving, satisfying, joy-filling as watching our Historic South LA Black Cultural District continue to grow, develop, and exist. At its core it feels like such a powerful testament to an energy and spirit that precedes all of us involved, but that we get to steward with our community of supporters. When we started this work the California Arts Council hadn't even released any word that they would be inducting new Cultural Districts, but we were driven by a dream that this thing, this district could and would exist. And sometimes that's all you need is a dream to manifest amazing things into reality—and a bomb community just as committed to the dream as you.
It's sobering that this year we celebrate 100 years of Black History Month, and somehow we are still pushing to preserve Black space, culture, and life—especially when we know it's the backbone of this country. But that's where the dream and this placekeeping work come in, because we dream so hard of a time and place where these stories and lives will be protected from loss, because we know it's real and possible. And as we entered this month, we completed a host of sessions to identify potential locations for the BCD's monument(s), and the recurring word that came up was, resilience. Which is evident in every single celebration, smile, and victory on this journey of making sure culture is honored to the highest degree.
I entered LA Commons with one personal goal, learning more about Los Angeles—especially South LA since I had lived there throughout college. And looking back, I definitely learned more about Los Angeles, but something even better has happened, I continue to meet Los Angeles through each person that supports our placekeeping efforts.
