KOREATOWN SPEAKS UP

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This is a special rebroadcast episode for the first ever panel-discussion by K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean.

On Thursday, November 2, 2023, K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean, also known as K-Town Is OK, brought together long-time and former residents of Koreatown into conversation. The panel, free and open to the public, was held just over a year after the public release of a private discussion between L.A. City Council Members Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo and Kevin De Leon, and Federation of Labor leader Ron Herrera, in which they dismissed Korean-American residents of the area and ridiculed Oaxacan or Mexican-American members of the community as “short, dark people” and “feos (ugly).” The panel discussion was held online and featured a line-up of guest speakers, culminating a year-long effort by my colleague Helen H. Kim and I documenting Oaxacan-American, Korean-American and other voices in Koreatown through our website and podcast, K-Town Is OK.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Quien Es Tu Vecindario to support this panel and help create more such dialogue for our communities.

J.T.

IMMIGRATING TO L.A.

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Tonny St. James is the Youth Policy Advisor at Lens Co. Tonny was born and raised in Kigali, Rwanda. In 2017, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in fashion and culinary arts. But after struggling with homelessness and immigration issues, Tonny shifted his focus to advocating for young people facing homelessness. He has been an advocate since 2018, most recently leading the Young People To The Front Podcast, among other initiatives. In this episode, Tonny tells us about going to a U.S. boarding school in Africa, the peace and reconciliation process in Rwanda with respect to the 1994 genocide there, the complications of immigrating to the U.S. as a queer Black person, his thoughts on “transplants to L.A.,” and much more in a convo that inspires us, makes us laugh, and energizes us. You can keep up with Tonny through his new Aliens, InC organization.

To make a one-time donation to my fundraiser for the 9th anniversary of JIMBO TIMES, please do so through jmbtms.com. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, please check out my PATREON.

J.T.

EPISODE 115 – NICOLE BANISTER AND I DISCUSS BARCELONA, TRAVELING THE WORLD, AND SO MUCH MORE

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Nicole Banister, also known as the host of Nikki Banz Live, recently accepted the Peace Corps’ Franklin H. Williams Emerging Leaders Award for work that exemplifies the advancement of world peace and friendship. Nicole was also featured on Episode 62 of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast as the Founder and Commissioner of My Basketball Team. Our energizing discussion touches on my upcoming journey to Barcelona’s Barrios, Nicole’s visit to 21 different countries on the African continent alone, discovering ourselves–including our voices–through seeing what the world outside of the United States has to offer, and more. A true chat for communities from Cape Town to Los Angeles to keep handy for motivation.

Also, remember to submit your voicemail to the new J.T. Weather Report!

Here are the four easy steps to take when calling into the hotline:

I. Choose an interesting nickname for yourself to keep your anonymity.

II. Tell me which side of The City (or County) you’re calling from.

III. Tell me how you’re liking the weather, or if you’ve seen anything interesting through it like a downed power line, fallen tree, a pack of opossums, etc.

IV. Keep it under a minute! This helps us tune in to more reports rather than less.

***And if you’d like to keep your number anonymous as well, did you know that pressing *67 before you dial a number keeps your number blocked? That’s right!

Submit your voicemail to the J.T. Weather Report at (213) 458-5042.

For more of these updates and then some, follow J.T. the L.A. Storyteller on Apple or Spotify, then rate and review us!

And if you’d like to tune into the show from elsewhere, please see our RSS feed here: https://jmbtms.com/category/podcast/feed/

J.T.