Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 3, No. 29 - July 22, 2021
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Professionals.......................8
Classifieds............................2
Entertainment......................2
Hawthorne............................3
Lawndale..............................4
Inglewood.............................5
Legals............................. 5,6,7
Pets........................................8
Seniors..................................3
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LA Dodgers Foundation Inspires
South Bay Kids to Keep Reading
Los Angeles has one of the lowest literacy rates in the country. Nearly four million people, more than half of Los Angeles County’s working-age population, have low literacy skills, severely impacting their
employment ability. To help address the literacy crisis in Los Angeles and get children excited about reading, the Los Angeles Dodgers partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation to execute LA
Reads, a literacy campaign that includes a literacy challenge, “Dodgers Reading Champions”. LA Reads and the Dodgers Reading Champions are designed to motivate youth to read and help them build
a lifelong love of reading. Visit Dodgers.com/LAReads to register - it’s FREE and fun for the kids. Photo courtesy Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation.
Film Producer And Lawyer Tanya Taylor
And Family Settle Down In the South Bay
By Duane Plank
Photos Provided by Tanya Taylor
So how does a lady, producer of an acclaimed
documentary film that debuted two months ago,
Black in Mayberry, born and initially raised
in Jamaica, schooled in the United Kingdom
and other locales “across the pond,” end-up
living in El Segundo with her husband and
two youngsters?
Serendipity, I say. Timing in life is everything,
right? Have you ever looked for a parking
spot at the local Ralph’s, and been frustrated
because the second that you pass an occupied
spot, the driver following too-closely behind
you nabs the prime spot because it is vacated
by the driver who has finally finished scrolling
through their all-important text messages,
and decides to start their car, opening-up the
cherished pavement spot?
Well Tanya Taylor, and her husband, Lee
Tonks, complete strangers, but not for long, had
the great fortune one day of standing in line at
a Westside cafe. Taylor said that she, standing
a spot ahead of Tonks, heard his distinctive
British accent as he chatted up folks to pass
the time. Taylor was queuing up to order some
(probably) over-priced hot chocolate.
We will let Tonks, who is a residential and
commercial real estate broker, chime in at
this point. “We met at the café, and it kind of
snowballed from there,” Tonks said. “She was
beautiful. She had an English accent, which
was something we had in common,” Tonks
said. Tonks did not waste any time courting
Taylor. “Straight off the bat, I asked her out
to dinner, and she said, yeah.” Dinner at an
Italian restaurant in Venice ensued. “We have
been together 24/7 ever since,” he said.
But there actually were some disruptions in the
burgeoning courtship. At that time, Taylor was
making a “world tour,” with her stop in Los Angeles
scheduled to last for about a month. Tonks
and Taylor decided that they would attempt
to rendezvous in a different country every four
weeks. As Taylor continued her travels, Tonks
decided that he was not going to happily deal
with their monthly separations and travailed to
Nicaragua, where he said he “brought her back.”
Tonks, an ex-professional boxer on his wife
of five years: “She is an incredible person…
Intelligent, practicing international tax law for a
decade, speaks multiple languages…Exceptionally
beautiful…what is not to love?” he said.
Tonks noted the passion that Taylor puts into
the social causes that she champions. “She is
just getting started,” Tonks said. “The next
movie, and subsequent movies, are going to
blow this one out of the water…Her perspective
on being Black in America, because she
was born in Jamaica, and raised in England,
is a fresh perspective. It gives you a view of
America that is quite shocking, to understand
what racism is in America, and how intrinsically
woven into the fabric of the country and
Black in Mayberry producer Tanya Taylor.
protest, there was this rag-tag, passionate group
of a few dozen folks holding signs, chanting
“Say his name!” and “Black Lives Matter.”
Cars drove by with passengers pumping their
fists and giving the thumbs-up sign to us.
Many motorists and their passengers looked
genuinely shocked and pleased to see us out
there. We only got flipped the bird once or
twice. Me, my son Wayne (who is also in the
documentary), and Tanya and Lee’s daughter
Marley and Tanya were the only Black folks
there. FOUR! I was glad I came. And on that
day, the El Segundo Black Lives movement was
born and continued to grow. I participated in
a second protest event in El Segundo as well.
“I’m 68 years old,” Harris said. “I began
marching for justice and demanding this
country live up to its promise since I am 14
years old. The El Segundo movement felt like
finally - America was showing up. America was
saying enough is enough. When I began my
speech at the protest in the courtyard of the El
Segundo police station, my opening was to ask
that the people who are experiencing standing
up for justice through protest for the first time
raise their hand. The overwhelming majority
the history that racism is.”
Denise Harris is featured in the Black in
Mayberry film: “I met Tanya a few years ago,”
Harris said. “Her partner, Lee Tonks, and I had
been close friends for more than ten years, and
after he introduced me to Tanya, she and I hit
it off immediately. I live in Inglewood. Tanya
knew I had been an activist most of my life,
and I had been participating in marches in Los
Angeles protesting the murder of George Floyd.
So, when Tanya called me and asked if I would
come to a protest in El Segundo, which I know
to be an above-average predominantly white
community, I felt compelled to join her. I was
compelled to go because for the first time in
my life, at every protest, I was experiencing
intergenerational and interracial protest, and I
felt it critical to show up and recognize allies
with my presence.”
Continued Harris: “I brought my young
son, Wayne, freshly graduated from Fordham
University, with me. As expected, for this first See Tanya Taylor, page 4