Today on Conversation Piece…Meet Christopher Ackerly as he tells us his housing journey, from living in an encampment, the lack of housing options, choosing to say yes or no to shelters to becoming a member with Los Angeles Community Action Network, LA CAN. Chris with his neighbors throughout Skid Row are fighting to stay housed in a housing disaster that is out of control in Los Angeles.

Chris with his neighbors throughout Skid Row are fighting to stay housed in a housing disaster that is out of control in Los Angeles where the toughest property protections in the State of California protects the poorest of the poor from sneaky developers like Hope For an Affordable LA and slumlords like Leo Pustilnikov, who in Skid Row will do anything to displaced tenants and ignore property ordinances such as the Wiggins Residential Hotel Protections and the Residential Hotel Ordinance. Hear Chris Ackerly’s housing journey…

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Today on Conversation Piece…Meet Coach Rob Silver, who says folks need to know how to edit stress, release emotional weight and live from the present. Contact him at [email protected].

But first let’s hear from the LARSO Campaign, the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance with Lena Sullivan of SAJE who is part of the Keep LA Housed Coalition, and from Memphis Paredes of Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council. Lena was the lead organizer at a rally in front of the Los Angeles City Hall about LARSO to get it passed in the Los Angeles City Homeless and Housing Committee. Paredes and Sullivan along with many others are helping to keep rent from being so damn high.

For more info about SAJE, Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, go to SAJE.net. To learn more about LARSO, the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance check out KeepLAHoused.org.

Today on Conversation Piece hear the story of Nicholas Burgos, who was murdered by Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Dalia Gonzalez while he was hospitalized. Joining us to tell Nicholas' story is his sister Maria Burgos about that fateful day at Harbor UCLA Medical Center when Deputy Gonzales fired 9 shots at Maria’s brother, Nicholas, 7 of the 9 shots hit him. Hear about Nicholas, the big hearted generous funny man.

Later meet TemuAsyr Bey and Brother Adam X from the Community Hub in Inglewood at Imani Gardens Kathy Kitchen where they are dismantling food apartheid, by being on the frontlines of regaining control of our food supply and getting our people farming again. They say, we are the solutions to the so called food deserts. Find them on IG under Imani Gardens and at 7701 Crenshaw Bl in Inglewood, California.

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10am PT Saturday

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Human rights, economic justice and do not promise something that cannot be delivered. All People’s Health Collective refuses to leave anyone behind and will find solutions that benefit everyone.

Today on Conversation Piece…learn about the All People’s Health Collective with Lex Steppling because “People are the healthiest when their fundamental needs are met. We are safest when everyone has housing, community, health, and purpose.”

Welcome to Conversation Piece!

Conversation Piece

Saturdays 10am PT

KPFK.org

KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles

98.7 FM Santa Barbara

93.7 FM San Diego and

99.5 FM Ridgecrest / China Lake

Heard worldwide online streaming anytime and archived at KPFK.org

MTASproductions.com

Conversation Piece

10am PT Saturday

KPFK 90.7 FM / KPFK.org

Today on Conversation Piece…from East 6th Street in the apartheid state, the center of Downtown Los Angeles known as Skid Row…Hear voices, chants and sounds at the O22 Rally & March in Downtown Los Angeles at LA CAN for the National Day of Protest against police brutality. Stop LAPD Spying Coalition hosted the O22 Rally & March, where they tell everyone to join the fight against the fascist police state. StopLAPDSpying.org

Later Stephano Medina, Managing Attorney, Movement Legal speaks of the importance of rental assistance to keep Angelenos housed, and why the Los Angeles City Attorney has placed millions of dollars on hold for most of 2025, for rental assistance leaving tenants vulnerable to being evicted.

If you need to know your tenant rights, check out StayHousedLA.org and MovementLegal.org.

Welcome to Conversation Piece!

Conversation Piece

Saturdays 10am PT

KPFK.org

KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles

98.7 FM Santa Barbara

93.7 FM San Diego and

99.5 FM Ridgecrest / China Lake

Heard worldwide online streaming anytime and archived at KPFK.org

MTASproductions.com

House Keys NOT Handcuffs!

This week on a special Music To Resist By Edition of Conversation Piece, we speak to members of the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) about the effects of Trump's executive order on homelessness, and it's real effects on housing and criminalization policies region wide.

Join our guests Therese Howard of the Housekeys Action Network Denver (HAND), Clayton Shea from the Missoula Homeless Union, and Sam from Judy's Midnight Diner in Oregon to get the real picture of the oppression of poor people on the ground, and what they are doing to fight back! Welcome to Conversation Piece, the Music To Resist By edition.

Conversation Piece

Saturdays 10am PT

KPFK.org

KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles

98.7 FM Santa Barbara

93.7 FM San Diego and

99.5 FM Ridgecrest / China Lake

Heard worldwide online streaming anytime and archived at KPFK.org

MTASproductions.com

On Conversation Piece today…Meet my guests: Angie Wilson, the president of the Council of Black Nurses Los Angeles Chapter, and Gwen Woods, who will share why she is a fierce bone marrow advocate and community activist with a personal story about her grandson, Eric Alexander. Did you know that Black patients are less likely to find a bone marrow match due to low representation on the bone marrow registry? July is designated as African American Bone Marrow Month, and my guests say don’t wait until July for a simple cheek swab to save a life.

But first we have a Sister Charlene Muhammad with a news report.

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What it is!  Friday,June 6, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents invaded Los Angeles.  They used administrative civil warrants to arrest students, hotel workers, cooks, landscapers, and construction workers.  Invading schools and workplaces demanding that any Angeleno who wasn’t sufficiently Caucasian produce their papers.  Taking them away in unmarked vans, without judicial process.  Of course, the people of LA wouldn't stand for this, and mass protests flooded out downtown Los Angeles.  The news, federal government, and even some members of the city council lied about these peaceful protests being riots, but the video shows that the only ones rioting were the LAPD.  Today we are going to speak to a community member who was there all week, and later we will be joined by Matyos Kidane to explain the strategy behind these lies...Welcome to Conversation Piece.

Today on Conversation Piece...Meet Ronnie Laws and his sister Debra Laws, as you may know about their jazz-soul fusion of music with instrumental songs like Always There and love ballads like Very Special. With early musical roots in their family today you will hear some of theri musical hisotry and legacy from Ronnie Laws' early professional breakthrough when he joined Earth Wind & Fire to Debra's solo career.

See Ronnie and Debra Laws perform next Saturday, June 28 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Follow Ronnie Laws on all social media platforms to find his next performance and upcoming releases.

During our KPFK Membership Fund Drive, we have a special Black History Edition of Conversation Piece with a speech you may not have heard as much as the I have a Dream speech.

This speech was given in Los Angeles on March 16, 1968, less than three weeks before Rev Dr Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated. The setting is a house in the Hollywood Hills with a group of artists who were concerned about the war in Vietnam. Dr. King is introduced by one of the artists there, novelist, playwright, and poet James Baldwin. KPFK was there to record the event and Pacifica Archives has curated it. The recording aired on KPFK on April 4, 1968.

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You can participate in our Membership Fund Drive by calling 818-985-5735, hit option 2, that's 818-985-KPFK and online anytime at KPFK.org.