While the new year has only just begun, residents of Los Angeles have had a tough week due to the devastating and unprecedented wildfires that have run rampant in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Malibu, Hollywood Hills Woodland Hills and more.
And while the news of folks losing their homes and belongings have mostly centered around celebrities and more wealthier civilians, it should be noted that those people do not make up the majority of those who are going through it and displaced.
In fact, most of the Los Angeles residents who are victims of these fires are regular, working-class people of color—Black people specifically, especially when it comes to Altadena—who worked hard to get their homes and keep them in their families for decades. Outside of Altadena, Black folks in other areas of the city have also been disproportionately affected which makes the lack of empathy and compassion for those suffering both asinine and myopic—and folks are starting to speak their peace about the unfairness.
“This is not normal. This is not normal, they’re burning down my hometown,” said one user and Black L.A. native in a now viral video on TikTok. “If you’re laughing about this, f**k you. F**k you. All my memories, all my f**king memories, my whole childhood. These are regular people, do you know how many Black people live in Los Angeles? Do not make jokes about this, it’s stretching all over. They’re burning down L.A.”
Over on X/Twitter, Black users echoed similar sentiments and begged folks to remember the everyday people who are now having to deal with this tragedy.
“For the people who keep telling the world they have no sympathy about the LA fires, it looks absolutely insane for you to downplay the fact that hundreds of black and minority communities lost their homes. Your anger lies with the US gvt NOT the innocent ppl that lost EVERYTHING,” wrote one user.
“LA is a real place with real people. It’s not just the rich and famous here. Reserve the snark. Post some GoFundMe links. Let’s help our neighbors” wrote another.
“A historically black neighborhood has been burned down. one that will never probably be fully rebuilt due to lack of grace or compassion to historically black things by the government. it’s more than properties,” another user wrote.
“Pasadena & Altadena has some of the oldest black neighborhoods in SoCal, these fires are displacing and effecting working class people and working class Black people at that,” another said.
“Just want to pop in and say never feel bad for having empathy . empathy isn’t transactional and should never be. LA fires is just more than ‘burning properties’.. black and brown people in LA are being affected by these wildfires. Generational black homes have been burned,” another user said.
The Root is sending its deepest sympathies for all those affected and implore others to consider sending resources and other ways to help those in need.