Ted Soqui
A new coffee shop in Boyle Heights has created a tense standoff in the neighborhood, with community members clashing with businesses that have recently moved to the area. A group of picketers stood outside Weird Wave Coffee, a narrow storefront space on East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, urging would-be customers not to enter and taunting those who did with words like “sellout,” “colonist” and “collaborator.” The protests mirrored the recent “artwashing” protests against new art galleries in Boyle Heights, which has drawn attention to what some locals have perceived to be the beginning of gentrification in the area. Check out these photos of the conflict by L.A. Weekly photographer Ted Soqui and read more about the protests here.
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