*A planned 5K run through LA’s Leimert Park has ignited a heated debate over Black cultural space, community consultation and Black-Latino relations in Los Angeles, with Black community leaders now calling on Mayor Karen Bass to intervene.
At the center of the controversy is Barrio Athletics, a South Los Angeles-based fitness organization planning a 5K for Sunday, Sept. 6. In a promotional video, organizers said participants would meet at Leimert Park at 9 a.m. before running along Crenshaw Boulevard.
The announcement drew opposition from activists and community members concerned the event could interfere with an established Sunday marketplace used by Black vendors.
“Barrio Athletics, y’all got to figure out something else,” one woman said in a widely circulated social-media video.
Calling Leimert Park “Black space,” she objected to hundreds of runners and outside vendors potentially disrupting the marketplace and warned that organizers would be “met with resistance from the Black community.”
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Her characterization of the event as part of a possible “hostile takeover” by the Hispanic community has also drawn criticism, with others arguing that visitors could patronize Black-owned businesses and that racial exclusion isn’t the answer.
Barrio Athletics Responds
Barrio Athletics has publicly acknowledged concerns about the Sunday market.
In an Instagram post viewed by EURweb, the organization said that if its gathering conflicts with activity around the park, it will move its warm-up and 5K starting point to the nearby El Pollo Loco across the street.
Barrio Athletics said the decision was intended “to respect the local vendors space and not cause any disturbance to the market at the park.”
The organization has not announced that the 5K is leaving the Leimert Park area. Instead, it says it will move its gathering and starting point across the street if necessary.
That hasn’t satisfied some opponents.
Najee Ali Calls on Mayor Bass
Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic Hope, told EURweb that Black leaders are calling on Bass to personally intervene.
“Leimert Park is the crown jewel and heart and soul of Black Los Angeles,” Ali said.
Ali contends Barrio Athletics should not hold the event without what he describes as the proper permits and support of local residents and business owners.
“We stand with the Leimert Park Merchants Association and Black vendors who have sacrificed everything to stay in business in Leimert Park,” he said.
Ali stressed that the opposition isn’t about hostility toward Latinos.
“We’re not anti Latino,” he said. “But Latino organizers must respect the Black community and our vendors.”
He wants Bass to call for the event to be halted until representatives from both communities can meet.
EURweb has not independently confirmed Ali’s allegation regarding the event’s permitting status.
Dispute Reaches Neighborhood Council
The controversy has already moved beyond social media.
The Park Mesa Heights Community Council scheduled a special Sept. 1 meeting specifically to discuss and potentially vote on the Barrio Athletics event. As of publication, EURweb had not located publicly posted minutes or an official vote result.
The dispute also touches a deeper issue. Leimert Park has served for generations as one of Los Angeles’ most recognizable centers of Black commerce, art, music and culture. Leimert Park Village describes itself as the “Cultural Capital of Black L.A.”
That history helps explain why an otherwise ordinary fitness event has become a debate over who should be consulted before large outside events enter culturally significant community spaces.
Black Space or Public Space?
Barrio Athletics’ response complicates allegations that organizers simply ignored local concerns. The group acknowledges the marketplace and says its proposed adjustment is specifically intended to avoid disrupting vendors.
Opponents counter that moving across the street doesn’t resolve the underlying question of whether organizers adequately consulted merchants and other Leimert Park stakeholders beforehand.
The controversy has therefore exposed a difficult question for multicultural Los Angeles: How should historically Black spaces be protected and respected without cultural preservation becoming racial exclusion?
Barrio Athletics itself is rooted in South Los Angeles. Founder Henry Gallardo has previously described the grassroots organization as an effort to create a fitness community where people can pursue healthier lives while feeling represented.
Both sides are talking about community and respect. They sharply disagree about what those principles require in Leimert Park.
EURweb reached out directly to Gallardo Wednesday seeking comment on the organization’s permits, whether Barrio Athletics consulted Leimert Park merchants or community leaders before planning the event, and the current location of Sunday’s gathering.
This story will be updated if Gallardo or Barrio Athletics responds.
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