The inauguration of a crossing in Tujunga for Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan, who has written extensively on the experiences of Armenian immigrants in California, has sparked controversy among some in the community who claim they overshadow the existing historical significance of the corner , and others who believe The opposition is based on discrimination.
After the Los Angeles City Council voted for the expulsion of William Saroyan Square earlier this month with a plaque at the junction of Commerce Avenue and Valmont Street, the local city council issued a statement in which he described the placement as inappropriate. The dedication is set to 16 o’clock. Saturday.
The designated area is adjacent to Bolton Hall, a historic stone building dating back to 1913, which originally served as a community center for a local utopian community. It was used as a hall of the American Legion, public library, Tujunga City Hall and Prison and is now a museum of local history.
“It’s the place people are talking about,” said Liliana Sanchez, president of the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council. “It is the historical importance of this intersection, where no signage should be made.”
According to Monica Rodriguez, City Councilor of Los Angeles, who led the initiative, it was also a crossroads where several Armenian cultural events took place.
The inauguration ceremony on Saturday coincided with the annual Armenian Sunland-Tujunga Cultural Festival, which takes place along Commerce Avenue.
The Armenian-American writer, playwright and short story writer, born in Fresno in 1908, won the Pulitzer in 1940 for his play “The Time of Your Life,quot; and in 1940 for the filming of his novel “The Human Comedy,quot; an Oscar. “
“I consider myself an Armenian writer,” Saroyan once said. “The words I use are in English, the environment I’m writing about is American, but the soul that makes me write is Armenian.”
Southern California is home to the largest Armenian community outside Armenia. According to US census data, more than 200,000 people of Armenian descent live in Los Angeles County, with the highest concentration in the Glendale, Burbank, Sunland and Tujunga areas.
Rodriguez, representing the Tujunga region along with neighborhoods such as La Tuna Canyon, Sylmar, Pacoima and North Hills, was disappointed with the rejection of the Saroan commitment.
“It is unfortunate that not more people are taking this opportunity to benefit from the diversity of our community,” she said.
A longtime resident, Robin Jodi, said she refused the dedication because Saroyan had no connection to the region. It was a feeling that was repeated by others in their written public comments.
But Rodriguez and others noted that Bolton Hall was named after an Irish-born author and activist who also had no connection to the immediate area.
“[Saroyan] is a true Californian, the son of immigrants and an inspiration to all of us,” wrote Vic Aghakhanian, another longtime resident, in a public commentary. “I believe it is time for our church to commit itself to multiculturalism and to the appreciation of our diversity.”
Jodi defended her posture.
“It’s a welcoming community, it’s a diverse community that Saroyan has never visited, it has nothing to do here.”
A similar debate took place in Glendale last year, when the city council decided to change the name of a two-story section of Maryland Avenue on Artsakh Street to Artsakh, a controversial area between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Some opponents of the name change said the controversial area had nothing to do with Glendale’s story. Several entrepreneurs argued that the renaming could harm them economically.
Supporters argued that it was long overdue for Glendale to have a street in honor of the city’s large Armenian-American community.
Sanchez and Jodi both said that they believe the community’s contribution to Saroyan engagement is limited.
“We have not been given a vote,” said Sanchez.
Following the introduction of the motion on September 11, members of the public were invited to submit written comments, Rodriguez said. The residents were also allowed to speak when the point was discussed during a public working meeting on 18 September.
It’s the same process that Rodriguez followed for the three other dedications she initiated in her district. Sanchez said she objected to the fact that additional verbal comments were not allowed during the regular LA city council session when the dedication was unanimously approved.
About 240 public comments had been tabled pending the vote on the motion – more than any other issue on which the Council had worked during Rodriguez’s two-year term, as far as she can remember.
The majority support the commitment, she said. “Of all the issues I work on, homelessness and everything else [extra church meetings] would be over the top,” said Rodriguez.
Seidman writes for Times Community News