A planned 5K organized by a South Los Angeles running club has been moved from Leimert Park to Elysian Park after backlash from Black community members who objected to the event’s promotion and raised concerns about its potential impact on an established Sunday marketplace.
Barrio Athletics, a grassroots fitness organization founded in South L.A., had planned to hold its 5K on Sunday, Sept. 6, with participants meeting at Leimert Park before running along Crenshaw Boulevard. A promotional video described the event as “taking over the streets,” a phrase that quickly drew criticism from some community members who viewed it as disrespectful given Leimert Park’s significance as a center of Black culture, commerce, and political life in Los Angeles.
The backlash was amplified by a video circulating on social media in which a woman warned organizers not to come into what she called “Africa Town” and said they would face resistance from the Black community. Some social media users subsequently threatened to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on people attending the run, prompting Barrio Athletics to address the threats publicly and say it does not condone racism, violence, or hate.
But the dispute was not solely about race.
Leimert Park has a longstanding Sunday marketplace that has become an important part of the neighborhood’s Black cultural and economic life. The African Marketplace and Drum Circle has roots dating to at least the early 2000s, according to reporting from LAist, and vendors spent years navigating city permitting requirements to establish a legal farmers market. One organizer described the effort as being about more than vending, calling it a matter of economic survival for Black Angelenos.
The Leimert Park Crenshaw Corridor Business Improvement District separately describes the neighborhood’s weekly craft and food market on Degnan Boulevard as having operated for 40 years. The BID oversees the market and has created a registration system for vendors.
That history helps explain why some residents objected to a large outside event being planned for a Sunday without what they considered adequate consultation with local vendors and community stakeholders.
Barrio Athletics had acknowledged before the event was moved that a morning market would be taking place at the park. In an Aug. 31 post, the organization said that if its gathering conflicted with the market, it would move its warm-up to a nearby El Pollo Loco and start the 5K there instead. The group said the change would respect the vendors’ space and prevent disruption to the market.
That proposal did not resolve the underlying disagreement over whether organizers had done enough to engage the community before announcing the event.
The Park Mesa Heights Community Council, which represents the area, scheduled a special board meeting Sept. 1 specifically to discuss and vote on the Barrio Athletics event, according to the council’s website. Publicly available records confirm the meeting took place, but a result of the vote has not been posted.
The controversy ultimately prompted Barrio Athletics to move the event entirely.
The organization said it made the decision following what it described as “careful conversation with community leaders” and that it was moving the run to Elysian Park “to respect Leimert Park and the surrounding community.”
The decision also corrected speculation that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had personally intervened to force the relocation. Her office told FOX 11 that Bass was not aware of the dispute before it was resolved and did not speak with anyone about the 5K or Leimert Park.
“Leimert Park holds a special place in the historical and cultural life of Los Angeles,” Bass said in a statement, while emphasizing the importance of bringing Black and Brown communities together and working through disagreements constructively.
Barrio Athletics is not an organization based outside Los Angeles. Founder Henry Gallardo is a South Central native, and the group describes itself as a South L.A. fitness community focused on making running and wellness accessible in neighborhood spaces. ABC7 reported in May that the group’s events can draw anywhere from dozens of runners to several hundred participants.
That context has added another layer to the debate. While some critics have characterized the dispute as evidence of deeper anti-Blackness and longstanding tensions between Black and Latino communities in Los Angeles, others have argued that the controversy should be understood primarily as a question of community respect, communication, and the use of culturally significant public space.
The distinction matters. Leimert Park is a public space, but it is also one of the most recognizable centers of Black cultural life in Los Angeles. A reality that has become increasingly significant as the city’s Black population and political influence have declined. FOX spoke with residents who said they welcome visitors and outside events but believe organizers should communicate with the community before staging large gatherings there.
The incident has therefore raised a broader question that extends beyond one 5K. How should Los Angeles balance access to public spaces with the history, culture, and economic interests of communities that have spent decades building and preserving them?
For now, the answer for Barrio Athletics is a different starting line. Its Sept. 6 run will take place at Elysian Park instead of Leimert Park.
