Silence Becomes Permission
SOME CONTEXT
I was reluctant to do this, but everyone has boundaries regarding their personal dignity and that of their family and community. For almost two years, I constructively tried to address these issues. Many points of contact, formal and informal. Smiles with zero follow-through. Politeness and patience haven’t seemed to pay off, so this is the next step.
Venice’s racial and economic diversity is a cornerstone of its magic and identity. Black, Brown, Indigenous, white, immigrant, artist, working class — that mix is what made this place sacred. Protecting that spirit means making sure every foundational community’s history and leadership is genuinely represented — not managed, not filtered, not decided by people outside of that community.
The spirit of VHM I knew years ago doesn’t seem to be the same one animating it today. The image of what something is supposed to be versus what it actually is is two different things. Some of the issues I bring up are what seems to be their partnership with Traci Park’s office, and their partnership with a group infringing on my registered Save Venice trademark. They’ve also platformed individuals who used the courts and the LAPD to try to silence Chicano leadership in Venice.
And I recognize that some of the individuals involved in these efforts are considered community elders — and I don’t take lightly what it means to challenge that. But respecting elders doesn’t mean accepting slander, fabricated allegations, and coordinated efforts to undermine an entire community’s representation. At some point, self-dignity — and the dignity of the people who actually built the culture and spirit that everyone claims to love about Venice — has to walk equal.
These topics have come up in community conversations for some time, but nobody has stated them publicly. Nobody on the advisory board, nobody in local leadership, and no self-proclaimed social justice organizations or publications. Silence becomes permission, and the habit (marginalization and tokenization) becomes culture, which is unacceptable.
And as I said before, everyone has their boundaries, and people will only treat you how you allow them to treat you.
So, below is the full text of an email I sent to VHM leadership. I’m sharing it because the Venice community — and the Chicano community especially — deserves transparency about how our history is being handled by the institutions that claim to represent all of us. Venice’s spirit has always been rooted in real diversity, real inclusivity, and real equity — the kind that was built by the families and communities who’ve been here for generations, who fought for this place, and who understand that honoring Venice means honoring the whole social and cultural ecosystem that created it. Not just the parts that are comfortable, convenient, or attract affluent donors.
In the spirit of respect and dignity,
Mike Bravo
