You can help can preserve the legacy of one of the leading figures of California history, Governor Jose Figueroa, who served during Mexican rule from 1833 to 1835, by writing the Los Angeles City Council, urging them to keep Figueroa Street intact.
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes recently joined a coalition of business, community and academic leaders who are opposing a bill before the
Los Angeles City Council to rename a portion of Figueroa Street after Lakers great, the late Kobe Bryant. Instead, the "Coalition to Honor Kobe Bryant and Save Figueroa Street" proposes to name the intersection of 11th and Figueroa as Kobe Bryant Square.
“To rename even a portion of Figueroa Street would begin to erase an important part of L.A.’s important city history,” wrote John Echeveste, LA Plaza CEO, along with USC history professors Darryl Holter and William Estrada in an opinion column published in the Los Angeles Times in December 2020. “We believe we can honor both of these heroes simultaneously without damaging the legacy of either.”
LA Plaza urges supporters of the Coalition to write letters to Councilman Curren D. Price, Jr., sponsor of the bill, and Council President Nury Martinez. Their address is Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, LA 90012, Room 420 for Price and Room 470 for Martinez. You can tweet them at: @CD6Nury and @CurrenDPriceJr
Figueroa Street was named after the governor in 1850 and is one of the city’s longest streets. Figueroa was considered one the state’s most able governors who sided with Native Americans in returning lands to them that had been confiscated to build the mission system.
“Our mission to preserve Latino history extends beyond the walls of our museum to wherever it may be threatened or dishonored,” Echeveste said. “We believe our compromise is the appropriate way to honor our heroes of the past and the present.”
Watch the En Casa con LA Plaza session discussing the issue by clicking here: https://youtu.be/QUkBmE0AgM4