Erin Aubry Kaplan
Erin Aubry Kaplan is an author, journalist and essayist who has been writing about black Los Angeles and wider issues since 1992. She teaches creative nonfiction at Antioch University Los Angeles and current events at the OASIS center in the Crenshaw district.
The street where I live is fine -- until the moment that it isn't, which is the case now after the instantly infamous shooting of Fred Martin.
When yet another dog follows me home, the only logical thing is to let it go
The case of Trayvon Martin may be outraging the nation, but in my Inglewood classroom he's just another one of us.
A "suspicious" black man, a brutal mistake, a refusal to see the reality of injustice.
What's the legacy of April 1992? Bet you haven't thought about it lately, to say nothing of the last twenty years.
Rush Limbaugh's attack against Sandra Fluke is rightfully costing the radio talk-show giant. But John and Ken's attack on Whitney Houston isn't getting nearly the response.
The normally bureaucratic process of redrawing city council lines has been a knock-down, drag-out fight amongst the three black council members -- and black constituents stand to be the big losers.
Losing my cousin this week has been like losing a part of me -- and of L.A. history
Yes, Whitney Houston died too soon. But as a singer and as a person behind the golden voice, she never really came to life.
Celebrating the history of black Americans every year should be simple, but it's anything but.
Don Cornelius was a steward of black pride who knew more than most of us that song and dance wasn't just entertainment, it was a revolution. That the revolution happened in L.A. made it all the better for me.
In middle-class Inglewood, we'd all like to see gangs go away. But an injunction isn't going to do the job.