For Women’s History Month, we caught up with Areva Martin to see what she has been up to. You often see this best-selling author, civil rights attorney, and legal commentator on Good Morning America, CNN and other news channels. These days, you find her at her new children and family center or helping California families reclaim their land.
The reclamation of Bruce’s Beach was the spark that ignited a movement to reclaim African-American land unjustly seized in California. Areva Martin, a Harvard alumni and civil rights attorney, is now involved in that movement. It is not widely known that Palm Springs, California burned out the Black and Brown residents in their city in the 1950s and 1960s. Black and Brown residents were racially targeted by people who wanted to create a white homogeneous community. Even though minority residents had come into the city at a time when they were building its foundation and played a significant role when labor was greatly needed, the current residents didn’t hesitate to take violent methods to run them out of the city or into specific areas. Minority residents were confined to a community named “Section 14”. Instead of an effort to relocate them humanely and constitutionally, White residents burned their homes down or bulldozed them. For 60 years, the story was buried. Previous residents created a false narrative around the story. In the last year and a half, Areva Martin has been working with displaced and violated residents, trying to correct the narrative and elevate the real story.
Areva talked about the chipping away at DEI programs and legislative backtracking being prevalent in our society right now, making the efforts for progress much more difficult. She said, “I’m not giving up. I’m just clear-eyed about the assignment and the challenges, and I think there was a period after Bruce’s Beach where everyone thought this was our time. This was our moment.” Martin continued, “Between Bruce’s Beach and the California reparations task force, there was going to be this outpouring of support, and we were going to see White liberals locking arms with Black folks in our very Democratic legislature and in many of our very Democratic cities, saying yes, let’s write the check, yes, let’s give the property back, yes, yes, yes. That is not happening, so we just have to be clear about this moment.”
Areva Martin is also the founder and president of The Special Needs Network. We discussed her involvement in the development and opening of a community family center in Los Angeles, CA. On November 15th, 2023, there was an official ribbon cutting for the new Jacqueline Avant Children & Family Center in Los Angeles, where they are now located. Areva shared how this idea came to be and how she galvanized elected officials around her idea.
When this project started, Jacqueline Avant was still alive. Mrs. Avant is the wife of Clarence Avant, better known as “The Godfather of Black Music.” She was known for doing a lot of work for the youth in Los Angeles County. When asked what it meant to have the new building named after her, a woman who is so legendary in Southern California, Areva responds, “That was really beautiful, and I am so grateful.” She goes on to say, “Avant’s daughter Nicole Avant, who’s also a former Ambassador did an interview with Gail King on the CBS Morning Show where they highlighted the center. She talked about her mother’s worth and what it meant for her family to have that center named after her. It’s the legacy.”
Areva Martin is an award-winning civil rights attorney, sought-after on-air legal commentator, and nationally recognized children’s, women’s, and disability rights advocate. One thing is for sure, there is always a fighter in the ring with Areva on the case.
Tonya McKenzie
Tonya McKenzie is the CEO and principal consultant for Sand & Shores. She also serves as a Los Angeles commissioner.
