- Post date
- 2 Aug 2017
- Event date
- 15 Jun 2002
- Caption
- This is a request from @victornomoredreads: a flyer for a gig held at “The American Legion” in Walnut Park in 2002 that featured La Banda Skalavera, Double Agent, The Paranormals, The OK’s and Spanish Bombs from San Diego shared by @the_joe_the Thanks for this gem!
This hall in the unincorporated area of Walnut Park next to Huntington Park was a relic of the time that all of the South East L.A. cities (formerly known as the “gateway cities”) used to be strictly white as a result of legal and social residential segregation.
In fact, Alameda street (located a couple block west from the site of the American Legion) represented the dividing boundary between black and brown L.A. and the “lily-white” Gateway cities. It wasn’t until the 1960s that with the advent of Civil Rights legislation that people of color began to be able to rent and own homes in Huntington Park, South Gate, Lynwood, etc. In addition, factories soon left the area, compelling many white residents to move out while Latinas/os moved into S.E.L.A. and becoming the demographic majority by the 1980s. Nonetheless, the halls of these (mostly white) civic institutions endured well after most of the original organization members were gone.
Attending a show at the “American Legion” was quite an experience. It was a small, stuffy, and dilapidated hall that featured countless age-old portraits of World War II and Vietnam (while) veterans on the walls. Meanwhile a bunch of brown teenagers would mosh to syncopated out of tune ska beats by their fellow high school friends. The action was wearily observed by some old-timers at the attached bar operated by the overseers of the American Legion. They also probably turned a blind eye to the obvious underage drinking going on the small parking lot of the legion. There were shows at the Legion between 2001 and 2002. The site of American Legion Post 459 was demolished in the early 2010 and is now the site of Walnut Park Middle School.
Did you go to any of the American Legion shows? Have flyers/video?
- Location
- Walnut Park, California
- Type
- flyer
- Language
- English
- Bands
- Double Agents
La Banda Skalavera
Spanish Bombs
Susie Q
The Ok's
The Paranormals
- Producers
- No One Knows Productinos
- View on Instagram
- https://www.instagram.com/p/BXUhOB7nDYT/
- View on Internet Archive
- https://archive.org/details/200206157627_201907