El Segundo, though historically viewed as a predominantly white community, has more recently made efforts to increase cultural diversity and representation through its local community members. From its school district to its Black owned businesses, El Segundo has created space for and recognized the cultures that lie in it.
El Segundo Methodist Church on Main street. (Kiana Shelton / L.A. Times High School Insider)
El Segundo has grown from a major oil refinery town into a thriving aviation and aerospace hub. Established in 1917, El Segundo has a history of racial segregation during an era known as the “sundown”, made to make people of color feel unwelcome according to Greater LA.
While people of color often fell into the shadows, through a conscious effort, El Segundo has grown to become appreciative of the diversity it has.
El Segundo Unified School District (ESUSD), made up of El Segundo High School, El Segundo Middle School and both Center Street and Richmond Street Elementary, has incorporated efforts to recognize and appreciate cultural diversity.
The ESUSD superintendent, Jason Johnson said a districtwide survey was released to make sure that “the diversity of our student body and community body was reflected, celebrated and acknowledged at the schools.”
The Board of Education also took on inclusion and cultural belonging as a district goal. Center Street Elementary held an “International Night” for the first time, with more than 400 attendees and 40 tables reflecting their cultures. This allowed for young students to learn about other cultures as well as highlight their own.
While there has been progress, Superintendent Johnson stressed the importance of maintaining consistency throughout the schools and “vertical alignment,” meaning cultural appreciation is maintained from the elementary schools all the way to the high school.
“One of my biggest focuses as superintendent is vertical alignment,” he said. “When you go from Richmond Elementary to middle school to high school, there should be some level of consistency with your experience and cultural belonging.”
“El Segundo is a really diverse place, I don’t know if everyone outside of El Segundo recognizes that,” Johnson said.
El Segundo High School student and Black Student Union President Reyna Drew shared her experience as a Black student in the El Segundo Unified School District.
As president, Drew has accomplished volunteering with BSU for Divine 9 sorority and fraternity events, distributing food to underserved communities using food banks and partnering with Paxis Labs to take an African American Studies course at UC Irvine.
BSU is also the second biggest cultural club at El Segundo High School, Drew said.
“I do feel as though my culture is recognised at El Segundo because my school covers a variety of cultures,” she said.
Although there has been improvement, there is still room for growth, Drew said. During her junior year of high school, she recalls a time when there was a Historically Black College or University visit planned, but only a fourth of Black students at ESHS were on the invitation list. She said many BSU students expressed disappointment in the next BSU meeting the following Friday.
Drew would like to see more acknowledgement of Black History Month in the future.
“I feel as though Black history has way more to discuss than just the adversities,” she said.
Even given its current struggles in certain aspects of recognizing Black culture, “The majority of the time has been great.”
El Segundo Middle School Parking Entrance. (Kiana Shelton / L.A. Times High School Insider)
El Segundo Middle School Principal Sarah Davlantis discussed the school’s programs and goals for cultural diversity and recognition.
A variety of classes such as electives, English, history and language provide a level of cultural education that ESMS students can learn from. Cultural clubs are created each year based on student interest, although students have not recently formed many cultural clubs.
“I think it’s really valuable for students to know they belong on our school campus,” Davalantis said.
Future initiatives are being considered such as an International Fair during the school day, similarly to the previously mentioned International Night at Center Street Elementary. A Family Engagement night is also being considered, according to Davalantis.
“It’s always been a priority for me,” she said.
Davlantis shared that in her second year as principal at ESMS, she looked at all the cultures that made up the student body. She created and hung up flags to represent the students’ cultures. Davlantis recalls a parent verbally acknowledging and appreciating her efforts to include their family’s flag.
El Segundo Grande Avenue. (Kiana Shelton / L.A. Times High School Insider)
Beyond the school district, other efforts are being made. The El Segundo Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC), established in July of 2020, meets the first Wednesday of every month at 6:00 p.m.
“The city council felt really strongly about having a committee that helped make sure incidents like the George Floyd murder didn’t happen,” DEIC Chair, Christibelle Villena said.
“We know El Segundo has a history, it used to be a sundown town” Villena acknowledged.
With DEIC having a full 9 committee roster, Villena shows determination to help El segundo grow as a community. Villena mentioned that the DEIC has held various events, starting this year, for Pride Month as well as Juneteenth.
Villena also said that the DEIC meets with the El Segundo Police Department frequently to learn more about their approach and make sure they are aligned.
A big step the DEIC has made is the “Joy Around the World: Festival of Holidays and Tree Lighting” multicultural event every holiday season.They bring in about 6-8 different cultures and show the way they celebrate the holiday seasons, she said.
“There is always time for growth, even [for] us on the committee” she said.
A big success for Villena is still being here as a committee.
“We’ve seen people shutting down departments and the fact they we are still here and still completely supported is a huge win for us” she said.
Barsha Wines Front Door (Kiana Shelton / L.A. Times High School Insider)
Local Black owned business owners Adnen and Lenora Marouani share their experience as they recently opened in El Segundo. The husband and wife started their own wine bar and shop in 2012, known as Barsha Wines
“It’s a joy to get to offer our hospitality and our culture”, Adnen said.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring diversity to the city” Lenora said.
Barsha Wines is a way for Adnen and Lenora to celebrate their connection to Tunisian culture as well as Adnen’s Tunisian mother, which is where they get cuisine inspiration from, they said.
Barsha Wines Happy Hour Display on Grande Avenue (Kiana Shelton / L.A. Times High School Insider)
“It was really nice to see the DEIC still here because there are a lot of communities that have discarded that”, Lenora said.
Lenora and Adnen feel very honored to be part of this community and to bring their culture and story to El Segundo.
Rollins Law Group in El Segundo (Kiana Shelton / L.A. Times High School Insider)
Another business owner and community member Kendric Rollins, explained his perspective of being an African American involved in the El Segundo community.
As owner of Rollins Law Group, he said he’s highly involved in the El Segundo community from volunteering at El Segundo High School, AYSO refereeing, being a member of the ED Foundation and being an El Segundo High School parent. With regard to his role as a business owner over the past 12 years, Rollins has served his community with everything from criminal defense to civil litigation.
However, Rollins said it was not always easy for his presence as a minority to be recognized, but he has seen growth throughout the past 12 years.
In terms of diversity and cultural recognition, he noticed that it has “become more open”.
“There were no Juneteenth celebrations 12 years ago,” he said.
While diversity in El Segundo has improved, it is still lacking, he said.
As a person of color, Rollins said he does feel welcomed in El Segundo. He noted that the key to making your presence known as a minority community member in El Segundo is being involved.
“I try to make my presence known so that people can see what other minorities are capable of doing”, he said.
To other minority communities of El Segundo, Rollins reinforces that “you can do everything and more”.
