Erika D. Smith is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times writing about the people, politics and quest for a more equitable California. She joined The Times in 2018 as an assistant editor, expanding coverage of the state’s homelessness and affordable housing crises. She previously worked at the Sacramento Bee as a columnist and editorial board member. Before the Bee, Smith wrote for the Indianapolis Star and Akron Beacon Journal. She is a graduate of Ohio University and a native of Cleveland.
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Commentary on people, politics and the quest for a more equitable California.
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A new plaque at Bruce’s Beach acknowledges the racist act of eminent domain that destroyed what had been a haven for Black families and beachgoers.
With back-to-back floods and snowstorms, Californians are learning the hard way that emergency workers can’t be everywhere to help everyone all at once.
Thirty years after its premiere at the Mark Taper Forum, the seminal play on the 1992 uprising after the LAPD’s beating of Rodney King is back in L.A.
There aren’t enough trucks to tow or space to park large vehicles. But those issues pale in comparison to changing the mindset of many who live in RVs.
To justify a plan to stop funding a hotel for displaced residents, Councilmember Curren Price had accused them of ‘gaming the system.’ He apologized.
A new bill would limit pretextual traffic stops and let cities use unarmed employees instead. It’ll never pass without activists like Patrisse Cullors.
As a skater growing up in a diverse suburb, he ‘loved everyone,’ even as he knew racism existed and cops could use it against him. It happened in Memphis.
With five Black ex-cops charged with murder in Memphis, Tenn., Lora King reflects on what has changed since her father was beaten by the LAPD in 1991.
After Huu Can Tran, Chunli Zhao is the second Asian American man this week to be accused in a mass shooting of other Asian Americans in California.
Keenan Anderson, cousin of a BLM founder, is among three men of color who have died this year after encounters with LAPD officers. A vigil was packed.