Features

His fingers were covered in smudged hues of blue paint with a tangible intensity emanating from his molasses colored eyes. Ramiro Alejandro Hernandez, a.k.a. RAH, puts the finishing touches on an Aztec inspired painting inside the 11:11 temporary art gallery in Canoga Park, Calif. The streets buzz with live music and food trucks as the last of the summertime...

A petite woman with peach-colored skin and pearly white hair closes her eyes as she practices singing Christmas carols. Her passion for performing shines bright in her eyes while the ENCORE Singers rehearse in Room 3400 of the Pierce College music building. Eileen Guliasi, 81, is back in school for the first time since she graduated Theodore Roosevelt High School...

Panic washes over 21-year-old Alex Koontz when the idea of going to the bathroom approaches. Koontz barely ever passes as a guy so going into the men’s restroom is extremely stressful. It’s even worse to use the woman’s restroom with all the stares and constant whispers. Keeping his eyes to the ground and doing what has to be done is Koontz’s only way out.

As a riverboat passes by on a quiet river in Tennessee, an ex-gang member from Pacoima, Calif. sits on a dock nearby. Just watching. Breathing. Living. This serene setting is a world and life away from where a 12-year-old Neil Gutierrez was issued a seven-year sentence for beating up his mother’s boyfriend. He walked into her house to pick up clothes...

Dear Occupants of Los Angeles, It’s me, one of the 99%ers. I’ve seen you around town. I’ve had some conversations with people who claim to represent the movement. However, I still am full of questions and concern.

By Portia Medina       Across from the football field at Granada Hills Charter High School, three wiry teenage boys assemble the marquee at the First Presbyterian Church to read “The Breathing Room.” Inside the fellowship hall, a youthful man with a kind face covered in a short scruffy golden beard with warm brown eyes directs the boys. 29-year-old Justin Souza is...

Story By: Kari Golden Red. Green. Walk.     San Julien Street. Busted walls and littered concrete. Cracked windows and ignored street signs. Clusters of men and women lean against doorframes and empty spaces as others sporadically cross the street with blind eyes to oncoming traffic. Black hoodies and blazer jackets cover layers of clothing; layers of thickened scars. There is no sense of time or...

Story By: Jessica Conway         No Justice, No peace! No justice, no peace! The chants echoed through the streets on Mar. 19 2011. It was a protest on the streets of Hollywood and Vine, not just for anything but for a change in the world. The streets were filled with thousands of people, young and old of all races, who were unhappy with...