Our Venice Skatepark – A Diamond in the Rough

By CJ Gronner

Happy New Year, People! In the interest of shining a light on the things that are still awesome about living in Venice in 2013, I recently dug a little deeper into the everyday goings on at the Venice Skatepark. I grew up with my brother’s half-pipe in our backyard, smashed my own face trying to drop in off that thing, and was always surrounded by skaters, so I have a soft spot for the whole scene, but also recognize the beauty and importance of this place in our community. Officially known as the Dennis “Polar Bear” Agnew Memorial Skatepark, this gleaming jewel of a skatepark smack in the middle of Venice Beach is maintained – every single day – by the Venice Surf and Skateboard Association (V.S.A.), which really means by professional skate legend and V.S.A. President, Jesse Martinez, and his helpers.

After working for over 20 years to erect a skatepark in what many believe is the birth place of skateboarding, Venice finally got its skate home in 2009, and skaters have been tearing it up ever since. Which is why the maintenance of the park is such a big deal. Many places have skateparks put in by well-meaning skate companies and foundations, or grants or whatever, but then they leave and it’s up to whomever else is left to keep it up and running. Venice Skatepark is on Park and Recreation (City of L.A.) territory, but no one from the city has ever stepped a foot into the park to clean it. Ever. ALL the clean up and maintenance of the park is done by beyond dedicated, hard working and meaning it volunteers (hmm … kind of like The Beachhead).

The head of these volunteers is the very reluctant interviewee, Mr. Martinez. He’s out there seven days a week, before dawn, cleaning up the sand, glass, piss, blood, booze, graffiti, and whatever else winds up in the bowls of the skatepark overnight. I don’t think people really know how much work this takes, and that the skatepark isn’t just magically sparkling pristine and perfectly skateable every day on its own.

I’m impressed to my core that someone of such legendary skate stature as Martinez (which he completely down-plays every time it comes up – and it comes up a lot down at the skatepark) is the one that willingly gets up at 4 a.m. every day to make sure the park that he and his friends all worked so hard for so long to bring to life, is given the respect it deserves. As impressed as I am though, Martinez isn’t. He suggested I go interview a guy who lives down the street from him, a doctor, “that saves kids. THAT’S someone worth interviewing …”. As much as I admire his true humility, I would also argue that Martinez, in his own way, also saves kids.

Kids that – because of him – have somewhere safe to skate, which in turn, may be saving them from a more thug life, like the one Martinez came from, and feels that skateboarding really saved him from. He rejected gang life for skate life, and has dedicated most every waking moment to that end. Injured now (ankle), and a couple healing months away from shredding at his normal level, you can feel Martinez just aching to be in there, as he watched the others skate a few days ago, offering pointers (like leaning forward when you drop in, not back. That might have helped me out years ago …) and encouragement. You can also feel the very tangible respect all the kids down there have for Martinez. Respect not just for his Pro/Dogtown/Bones Brigade status, but for the fact that they can feel the deep care he has for the park, the up and comer skaters, and for skating itself, and that respect is infectious (if also a little fear-based, as no one wants to get chewed out by Martinez and Company).

That respect is there because of the specter of Venice’s skate past. Dogtown, Z Boys, the Bones Brigade … all those guys had was the streets and the pools, and look what they did with it! They created a legendary time, legendary tricks and styles, and legendary names for themselves. Now that today’s skaters have a beautiful skatepark, perfectly kept and maintained by one of their own, they need to step it up, and represent VENICE, like the guys before them did. Martinez remembers when every contest they went to, it seemed like every other name called was “So and So – Venice, California!” Now you’re lucky if you hear of one or two competitors called out for Venice. With that gorgeous park as their home turf, we’d like to see some new legends coming out of here. And not just coming out of here, but respecting it on the same level as the guys before them did. Which also means helping. If you appreciate that you get to have this unreal, super clean, amazing view, skate mecca as your home park, maybe you’d like to give back a little too – take turns helping on a dawn patrol clean-up one day a week. Push yourselves to charge it, and not just because you want a cool sponsor or a rad photo in a magazine, but because you love it to your core, like they used to and still do. Have PRIDE, like they used to, and still do. They knew what they represented back then. That is how you stand the test of time. And the Dogtown guys still do, which is why THEY are giving back now, in so many ways.

The reason why they’re giving back, is to keep that legacy going into the future, to raise another generation of pros from Venice, and to keep the Venice skate scene vibrant and exciting. This is the home of some of the best skaters of all time EVER, and that fact is honored and built upon every day that our skatepark exists.

And it exists in large part because of the V.S.A. In talking to Lauren Wiley of the V.S.A., I was very surprised to learn that here is no help from the City of L.A. or Park and Recs with the maintenance. When film crews shoot at the skatepark, they are charged a clean-up fee, which the V.S.A. never sees, nor do they see anyone else out there doing the fee-charged cleaning. When the V.S.A. wants to put on a contest or an event, they are charged for expensive permits and a usage fee by the City – for their own park that they use every day. These fees can run into the thousands, making it hard to pay for simple things like cleaning supplies (which also do not come from the City – but from donations and the V.S.A.’s own pockets), never mind putting on the contests themselves, or even paying a small salary to the guys out there keeping it all clean and safe. They don’t see a dime as it stands now, and that just doesn’t feel right. Not when they work so hard, and the park is such a tourist attraction, and when it provides such a home away from home for so many of our local kids. Though the V.S.A. is extremely grateful and appreciative for any help they do get from the City, Park and Recs, the “awesome” lifeguards, the LAPD Pacific Division, Councilman Rosendahl (a champion for the skatepark from day one), and from various local business donations, I’m pretty sure we can do better for it, as a community. Like Martinez said, “ALL locals should look out for their neighborhood.” Of course.

By doing better, I mean getting more involved. Local businesses can be sponsoring events at the skatepark. Local parents, grateful that their kids have a safe, fun – and FREE – place to hang out, could be donating, taking their turn doing some clean-up, organizing fundraisers so that the kids can have contests (like the one coming up in early 2013 for slalom and the crowd-pleasing Highest Ollie!), attend away contests, get prizes, have a summer camp where kids learn to surf and skate … and the good ideas just keep flowing. Those kinds of cool things are so possible, but they also cost money. Money that is as scarce at the skatepark as it is most everywhere else, but this is a place where you can actually see the few dollars they do have in action.

Ideally, it would be great to have the skatepark take in enough donations and monies earned from contests, summer camps, etc .. that they can be entirely self-sufficient and not have to worry about scrounging funds up from the City and grants and all that to do anything. The V.S.A. has already saved the City multi-thousands of dollars, because if they had to employ (and they would HAVE to) a couple full-time city workers to maintain the park, that would add up in a hurry, especially at the pre-dawn hours that it all has to be done. It would help to actually see those clean-up fees that the city collects from shoots used for clean-up – that they aren’t is shady, in my opinion. It would also help to NOT charge those usage fees for use of their own park – that just doesn’t make sense, Park and Recs, C’mon! Let’s give them a little break. So much good can be done, with just a very little help.

SO much good. I talked to V.S.A. member and the pretty much lone consistent volunteer, Victor Blue, who like Martinez, was born and raised -and hell-raised – his whole life in Venice. After a life of trouble-making, Blue got into skating, which led him to spending pretty much all day, every day at the skatepark, giving back and helping out today’s skaters. “I get to be a good example here,” Blue told me, after sharing a story about how a local mother interrupted a meeting to find out who this “Mr. Blue” was that her kid had been talking about so much. She wanted to thank him for putting her son on the right path, with his counsel and support every day down at the park. As Blue sees it, “The skatepark is the brightest spot in Venice right now … this park was built to stop destroying other areas … and you can see the positivity down here spread through Venice like a virus.” Let it!

This sentiment was echoed by local skater, Sean Vasquez, who told me that he loves to come skate Venice because “It’s one of the nicest skateparks around, it’s really well-kept and smooth, which makes your skating better.” He went on to say that “It’s all about the friendships, and the good vibes. Who wouldn’t want to skate on the beach?” I think Martinez and Blue and Wiley alike would be happy to hear that Vasquez also said, “I just come here to relax and skate. This place keeps kids here skating, instead of on the streets getting into trouble … I do it for the love of skating, which is a lifestyle, not a trend.” If Vasquez’s sentiments are the common ones held by today’s skaters, Martinez may be able to rest a little easier.

But he won’t. Because he has to get up at 4 a.m. to go clean the park all over again. Please think about that the next time you cruise past the wonderful Venice Skatepark, remember how it got that way, and consider what you can do to help preserve and protect both the history and the future of skating in Venice. Thank you in advance.

Skateboarding While Black

By Ronald McKinley

While skateboarding home on a nice, warm summer afternoon, Ronald Weekley, Jr. was beaten and then arrested by LAPD. Not beaten and arrested; there is a difference. The charge was for skateboarding on the wrong side of the street, and resisting arrest. Weekley has a broken nose, fractured cheek, and a concussion.

Several cell phone cameras captured the incident on Saturday, August 18. All the videos were by women who lived in the area. They can be heard speaking to the police.

One woman can be heard saying, “hit him again for the camera” in an effort to stop the police from doing just that. Weekley was prone face down and handcuffed on the lawn in front of his home, with four well-fed cops on his back. One of the officers grabbed Weekley’s hair with his left hand and punched him in the face with his right. One woman said, “That was a bitch-ass move.” Meanwhile other officers, not involved in the beat-down, tried to stop the videoing. Later she said: “ I know this isn’t Orange County, we just want to make sure you don’t kill him.”

The call for documentation could be heard: “video, video, video, video.” There were several cell phones recording. The women were brave, they kept a dialogue going with the police the entire time Weekley was prone on the ground. They were not kind to the police. I would have not been so inclined myself.

The Violent Crime Task Force is whom we have to thank for this mess. I thought they were supposed to stop violent crime. So skateboarding on the wrong side of the street is a violent crime? I guess if you knock over someone’s latte…

At the Venice Neighborhood Council’s August 21 meeting, held at the Westminster Elementary School auditorium, Capt. Brian Johnson, the commander of the pacific division, and Alex Bustamante, the inspector general of the police commission, held a question and answer session in the public safety-LAPD report portion of the meeting. This report includes a monthly Venice crime report and updates on law enforcement issues in Venice.

Johnson spoke on policing constitutionally, a favorite theme of his. He did not know the status of the officers involved in the incident, they could still be on the street. Bustamante spoke about the job of the office of the inspector general, the Professional Standards Bureau quality control for the police department. He also answered questions.

A number of people at this meeting spoke on being humiliated by the LAPD. One woman spoke about five officers stopping her from returning to her home after shopping. One man spoke about his 4^th of July celebration stopped by the police; he said they set up a command post in front of his house. This happened to me some years ago, after the police formed a skirmish line and cleared the whole beach, after a confrontation in the pavilion between the police and graffiti artists.

The August 28 community meeting concerning Weekley, who called himself “present-day Rodney King,” was an intense gathering attended by Johnson, Bustamante, and Mike Bonin from Rosendahl’s office. The policemen who were involved in Weekley’s arrest did not attend any of the meetings or rallies that took place.

Johnson pretended not to know there was racial profiling taking place under his watch. He spoke of Oakwood and was corrected by a woman in attendance, according to whom, “Oakwood is a park, but all of it is Venice. Separating Oakwood from Venice is a ploy to separate blacks from Venice.”

Venice is changing, and not for the better. Money has found Venice. The police answer to the moneyed. Walk down Rose Av. from the boardwalk to Lincoln Blvd. Slowly the people who make Venice, Venice are beaten down.

The place that perfected skateboarding is now making it a crime. I don’t skateboard. I did when I was a teenager; that is when we nailed skates to a board. This is what happens when you don’t vote. Someone who doesn’t know you decides your fate.

Weekley, Jr. was held for six hours before being treated for his injuries. He was told he had to sign a certain document before treatment. I could not find out what this document was.

Weekley, Sr. spoke of a legacy, where young people of all colors could enjoy Venice; where kids could walk, skate and play in their own community without fear.

Now we wait to see if the charges against Weekley, Jr. are dropped. We wait on the use of force report. This investigation could and probably will continue until sometime next year. Peace from the police and enough is enough.

Skateboarding is Not a Crime

By CJ Gronner

There was a rally August 22 for Ronald Weekley, Jr., the kid that was beaten by police August 18th for skateboarding on the wrong side of the street. In Venice, California. That alone should tell you how wrong it is.

How horrifying is it that this can still happen in this day and age! And how inspiring and chill inducing it was to be there this afternoon with a Venice community that CARES, and is demanding action.

Weekley, Jr.’s skater friends were there, his classmates, his neighbors, the news, and people that had never heard of him before this despicable incident, came out in support on a gorgeous Venice afternoon, as cars of strangers drove by and honked their support.

The police line is that the young skater was violating traffic code by skating down the wrong side of the street (who hasn’t?), and then resisting arrest for this blatantly heinous crime (who wouldn’t?!). Then it was somehow decided to have four cops beat him up. In broad daylight. In front of his home that he was skating back to. He has a concussion, a broken cheek, jaw and nose, and frankly, he looked a little like a Picasso painting as he stood in front of the crowd at the rally. For SWB. (“Skateboarding While Black”, as one of the speakers said, and which appears to be so sad, but awfully true. Sorry, but you consider the neighborhood, the kid doing nothing anyone else doesn’t do every day in Venice, and it really does look like his afro was his main problem. Which sickens me just to type). His father said that his son had thought he was going to die. In front of his own home. For SKATING!

Weekley Jr’s very well-spoken and unbelievably calm, considerate father, Ronald Weekley, Sr., addressed the gathered crowd and brought tears to my eyes with his considerate and heart-felt words. He clearly loves his community, and wants kids of ALL colors to skate safely in Venice. He said people have asked what the family wants, and it is simply to have their son’s charges dropped (he had to spend a night in County Jail without visiting a hospital first!), and the police officers that committed the crimes against Weekley, Jr. identified and charged publicly. In other words, JUSTICE. Which IS what we want, and we do want it NOW, as the chant went.

Mr. Weekley, Sr. went on to say that they hold no vengeance, no hate, and they are practicing forgiveness, but “forgiveness in context”. That’s right. He asked for skaters around California (and the World) to join together to combat police oppression, and “Redefine what it means to protect and serve!” That got a round of applause, as did most everything everyone said. When we weren’t crying.

Like I was when Weekley, Jr. took the microphone stand and cried himself as he very softly said, “Don’t be angry at what happened … Just help people that need it.” What a special young man, that he already lives in a place of forgiveness, and is himself moving on to looking how to help others.

Obviously we have a big problem with police using excessive force in this country. It happens far too often to deny it. Now the press has it out that Weekley Jr. had warrants out for traffic misdemeanors  (that almost everyone in Los Angeles has also had), but who cares? Police can’t tell you have warrants by looking at you, and warrants don’t equal beatings, even in our antiquated law books. The Weekleys have retained Benjamin Crump to help them, the same attorney who is handling the Trayvon Martin case. The Nation Of Islam were there today, standing in solidarity in their bow ties, and their spokesman Tony Muhammad reiterated that “This is not about color, this is about justice.”

Reverend Al Sharpton called the family, and let them know that the whole nation is watching Venice now because of this. Venice 2000 and the Venice Neighborhood Council were both represented, and all claimed to be in it “for the long haul.” Police need to be re-trained in cultural sensitivity, and as their Pastor, Horace Alan, of Westminster Baptist said, “We are ALL human beings … and human beings need to be treated better than laws.” Amen.

Weekley, Sr. took the microphone again in closing, and expressed his family’s gratitude for everyone there, for this “Community of HUMAN BEINGS”, and again said all they want is for kids to be FREE to live and play safely in Venice. Everyone wants that. For it to be the police themselves making that NOT the case is abhorrent, and Venice won’t stand for it, I can tell you that. Over-zealous, over-steroided, over-whatever their problem is cops will not be tolerated here. Where skateboarding is definitely NOT a crime.

The press conference wrapped and one of the young skaters started up the Justice chant as Weekley Jr. was surrounded by press wanting more from him.

The chant evolved into “Peace From The Police!” as the group made their way down 6th Street, holding signs that read “Justice 4 Ron!” and the best one, “PEACE for Ron!” To quote everyone there, …. “YEAH!”

Little Church of Horrors

By Calvin Moss

The skate ramp has been torn down; the Peace with Justice Pantry and Venice Food not Bombs has been forced out. What exactly is happening over at the Venice United Methodist Church? Has Pastor Rev. A. Okechukwu Ogbonnaya, a Fundamentalist Evangelical Christian, brought third world anti-gay bigotry and combined it with good old first world white racism?

Pastor Ogbonnaya travels as a preacher to Uganda and Nigeria – countries with extremely homophobic Christian movements in favor of laws that criminalize Gay people. One of these laws in Uganda was the Gay Kill Bill, which was strongly condemned by the United States government. Fundamentalist Evangelical Christians in the United States fund and lobby in favor of this incredible evil and these archaic laws against Gays.

The Church’s present and former trustees are known to have antigay fits and make sick racist comments. One trustee seems to delight in making sick racist comments about African-Americans. Once during a food give away in the Church parking lot he said, “ Someone is going to whack that Sambo” referring to President Obama. Another racist comment made by the same trustee in the church office about the AIDS epidemic that has devastated communities in Africa is: “All those bunnies jumping around in Africa.” Carol Green, the resident churchmarm, chuckled “no one pays any attention to him,” but someone inside the Venice United Methodist Church obviously did.

Cedrick Bridgeforth, the Los Angeles Area District Superintendent of the United Methodist Church, appears to be empowering the Pastor and the trustees to wreck the progressive faction within the church, despite letters and complaints from liberals in the community.

Another former head trustee was seen shaking hands with and befriending a young woman who had just committed a felony hate crime on the former pastor. Rev. Tom Ziegart had his car covered with swastikas and was threatened by this young woman and members of a white youth gang.  Even the present Church trustee chair is believed by some to have extreme antigay opinions and allegedly resorts often to openly lying about recent evictions.

Pastor Ogbonnaya is quoted in the press saying that the church could not afford the $1000/month insurance for the ramp when it was $1,100 a year. He said that there was a drug problem at the ramp, but the problem kids were kids from the neighborhood (not the skater kids) that the church intentionally looked the other way about. Now Pastor Ogbonnaya is rumored as saying the skate ramp was removed because of sexual molestation! This Pastor is known by some to make up wild stories like “someone just flashed a gun at me” while the people standing next to him saw nothing.

One other side to this sad story is when Pastor Ogbonnaya met with local L.A.P.D. Captain Peters and other intolerant Evangelical Ministries in Venice. What was said at these meetings is unknown, but one can only think that multiple evictions could be the bitter fruit of this, along with Councilperson Bill Rosendahl and the City’s support of the anti-homeless, hateful gentrification movement in Venice. Are the recent events at this Church an indication of the future of Venice? A right wing, kid hating, poor hating, gay hating intolerant Venice?

A positive solution to the terrible intolerant mess at the Venice United Methodist Church – mainly caused by District Superintendent Cedrick Bridgeforth and the Right Wing Church Members – is to close down that church, donate the Church Hall and parking lot to a local non-profit for conversion into housing for the poor with a ground floor storefront. The Church building, which is separate from the hall, could be turned into a multi-denominational church and community meeting hall used to teach peace with justice and tolerance  – the true soul of Venice.