By Shirley Hawkins
Contributing Writer
HYDE PARK — Residents of this South Los Angeles community were treated to a fall festival and food giveaway Nov. 23 by the nonprofit organization Project 43 LA Team Post at the organization’s headquarters at 6841 Crenshaw Blvd.
To celebrate the block party, the street was festooned with bales of hay and dozens of pumpkins dotting the landscape. The day-long celebration offered something for everyone.
Neighborhood kids played on inflatable jumpers while others played chess or demonstrated their artistic skills by painting or drawing at the art table.
Barbers from Kev’s Barber shop offered haircuts while children planted seeds in the nearby garden beds.
Those attending the festival were treated to an afternoon of nonstop entertainment. DJ Biker Rob spun tunes on the turntable as the crowd danced and sang along.
Twenty-year-old Ian Smith took to the stage and entertained the crowd with his Michael Jackson impersonation.
“I’m a big Michael Jackson fan,” said Smith, who also showed off his flashy hip hop moves. “I’m having a great time. I like the music here.”
Next came Lil KK Hustle, a self-described kickboxer, rapper, singer, dancer and TV show host who got the crowd going.
“I’ve been rapping ever since I was 2 years old,” she said.
The Jasper Boyz — Jeremiah, 14, Jairus, 9, and Malachi, 7, who journeyed all the way from Perris, to entertain at the event — exhibited their rap skills and dance moves while their backup dancers —17-year-old twins Caitlin and Danica Austin–kept the crowd grooving with their synchronized moves.
“This is a great event. We appreciate everyone who invited us,” Jeremiah said.
During the festival, Project 43 founder Amerylus “Miss Ann” Cooper climbed on stage and gratefully surveyed the crowd.
“I am about to cry,” she said, acknowledging the people and volunteers who helped to make the block party a success. “Some of these people today drove all the way from Oxnard to support us. I want to thank everybody so much. It really warms my heart.”
Project 43 was founded in 2019 by Cooper and her daughter Anissa Dickson and dedicated to the memory of the late rapper Nipsey Hussle who was from the same neighborhood. After his shooting death, Cooper vowed to continue his efforts to make change in the community.
“During the pandemic, I decided not to close the doors.” said Cooper, who has lived in the Hyde Park community for more than 60 years. “We were just on the brink of getting Project 43 off the ground but I pushed through and I’m so glad that I did because during the pandemic Project 43 fed over 2,000 families.”
The organization has emerged as a community haven where youths are not only mentored, but can learn such skills as sound engineering, how to crochet, how to make their own T-shirts in the center’s print shop, how to garden, how to can fruits and vegetables and even how to play chess.
Project 43 also provides food and clothing for residents of all ages.
“We have a babies giving smiles project that allows new mothers to receive diapers at no cost,” Cooper said. “And we provide the homeless with backpacks filled with hygiene products whenever they are in need.”
At the center’s recording studio, young people can learn how to sharpen their rapping and songwriting skills.
The center also runs a Project 43 Community Farm Stand Market grocery store, where from noon to 4 p.m. community members are able to purchase groceries for $30 a month. The market is also EBT and SNAP certified.
“Residents can arrive to pick out groceries such as eggs, milk and fresh produce,” Cooper said.
A community food pantry is also available where residents can take home items such as pasta, cereal, rice and canned goods twice a month.
There is also the Project 43 Cafe, where community residents can order food and indulge in delicious treats on a daily basis.
“When the nearby Ralph’s closed down, I made a vow that there would always be food on the (community’s) table,” Cooper said.
Cooper said that the nonprofit is desperately in need of a refrigerator, admitting that she is sometimes forced to give away perishable foods due to the lack of refrigeration.
Cooper hoped the pre-holiday event would publicize the plight of the center, which subsists solely on donations and struggles sometimes to keep the doors open.
“We need (to acquire) a stabilization grant that could support the center for at least two years,” Cooper said.
“I donated my whole life savings — $200,000 — just to help keep Project 43 stay open. I am committed to helping the community and its residents.
“I know we’re running a marathon, not a sprint,” she added, alluding to a quote from Nipsey Hussle.
“For a donation of $25 a month, business owners and supporters of Project 43 will receive a baton and a Project 43 certificate to show our appreciation,” Cooper said. “People who want to support the center through our marathon program can sign up at project43la.org.”
Cooper said that despite its financial troubles over the years, Project 43 has been able to touch dozens of lives.
“I met one young man who had lost both parents to drug use at a young age,” she said. “After their untimely deaths, he went to live with his aunt. But she eventually passed away from cancer and he was forced to go into the foster care system. He was about to age out of foster care. Then he got in trouble with the law and he was about to go to jail.
“His parole officer introduced me to him. I asked the young man to come help out at Project 43 and he came to work at the center. I saw him continue to blossom while he was here and today he is our youth coordinator,” Cooper said proudly.
To protest gun violence in the community, Project 43 is holding a memorial in honor of Christian Avenido who was killed three weeks ago in a drive-by shooting in the 2800 block of West Florence Avenue.
“His family reached out to me and wanted to hold a memorial in his memory,” Cooper said. “Avenido was only 34 years old.”
A walkathon will be held Feb. 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will start at the Project 43 LA headquarters at 71st Street and Crenshaw. Participants will then walk to nearby Crenshaw High School.
“We will have guest speakers there and other families will speak who have lost loved ones to gun violence,” Cooper said.
In partnership with Project 43, Black Men Build will celebrate after the event with a block party at the headquarters.
The Project 43 LA Team Post Center can be accessed at their website at project43la.org or call 323-522-8163.
Shirley Hawkins is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers. She can be reached at metropressnews@gmail.com.
