JANUARY 14, 2025
BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA
WEEKLY DISPATCH
By Leslie Fields-Cruz
Wildfires are no joke. This week, we’ve all seen how quickly nature takes away what we’ve built. Having grown up in Southern California, I’m no stranger to the Santa Ana winds or to wildfires. Still, I’ve never seen anything like what is occurring in the Los Angeles metropolitan area right now. So far, I’m only aware of one BPM filmmaker who has lost a home to these blazes. But with Southern California being a global hub for the media industry, I won’t be surprised to learn of others before the fires are extinguished. Los Angeles will never be quite the same.
Times like these remind us that our material possessions are ephemeral. We ourselves are only here for a short time. What endures are our stories. As people who spend their lives unearthing, documenting and distributing stories, these wildfires are a sobering reminder of the importance of our work.
Remembering and Recovering in the Wake of Disaster
In the aftermath of these wildfires, I’ve no doubt we’ll see several documentaries chronicling how they happened, where our systems failed, and who and what were lost. The stories of Black folks will be among these. Especially since Altadena, one of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the fires, is home to a Black enclave with a long and strong history.
For now, I encourage all of us to find ways to contribute to aid organizations that are on the scene. The losses are incalculable and the need is gargantuan. But we are a resilient and resourseful people. We can and must do all we can to help our neighbors recover.
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BPM is supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with further funding from the MacArthur Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts. BPM is the only nonprofit that offers training, funding and distribution for projects solely about the Black experience. We welcome foundations, corporations and individuals to help with our work. For more information about underwriting and contributions, contact Delynda Lindsey (delynda@blackpublicmedia.org).