January 20, 2006

To: All Commissioners=

From: Robin Toma

-----Original Message-= ----

From: Robin Toma

Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 10:42 AM

To: Adrian Dove; Adrian Dove; Albert De Blanc, Jr; Donna Bojarsky; Grand Master Chun; <= /span>Kathay Feng; Lea Ann King; Mario Ceballos- Yahoo; Rebecca Isaacs (risaacs@innercitylaw.org); Rev. Zedar E. Broadous; Susanne Cumming

Cc: Program Staff; Grace Lowenberg

Subject: Emailing: www.tombradleylega= cy.org

Dear Commissioners:

Yesterday I received a= phone message from Les Hamazaki, who was referred to me by Adrian Dove; both men = sit on the board of the Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation.

Mr. Hamazaki is asking= the Commission to 1) share information on the Tom Bradley Legacy -Black History= Month event below, and 2) endorse the proposal set forth to create am ecumenical spiritual walk at the birthplace of the Pentecostal church.

The invitation to the = event is below, and so is the link, which has the same text, but with historical = and current day photos of the area and proposal. (You'll just see the photo captions without the photos in the message below. If you click on the link,= you can see the photos as well.)

I will put the item as= to endorse on the agenda of the next meeting at which it is feasible.

In the meanwhile, all = are welcome to calendar and attend the event, so that we can learn more about t= he proposal and if it is something the Commission should endorse. <= /span>

Robin

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

The Tom Bradley Legacy= Foundation

In cooperation with

Asuza Street<= /st1:address> Memorial Committee

Black History Month Presentation

at The Tom Bradley Tow= er Room

27th Floor, City Hall<= o:p>

200 N. Spring Street <= /span>Los Angeles, <= span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>CA 90012,

Friday, February 3, 2006 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm

Azusa Street<= /st1:Street> Mission 1906 & Pastor Wil= liam Seymour & Multicultural Congregation

One Hundred Years Ago,= A Black Pastor Started a Multi-racial Church Which has Changed the World.

"Rev. William Sey= mour and the 500 million-member Pentecostal Movement"

"Little Tokyo's Azusa Street<= /st1:Street> Mission Movement Influence to= the World"

Mistress of Ceremony

Wanda Moore=

Founding Director, Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation

Maury Weiner, Chairman= , Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation

The Honorable Mayor An= tonio Villaraigosa, invited The Honorable Councilperson Jan Perry, invited

Speakers

The Azusa Street<= /st1:address> in Little Tokyo

Bill Watanabe

Executive Director, Li= ttle Tokyo Service Center Chairman, Azusa Street Memorial Committee Influence of Azusa Street Mission to the World Cecil M. Robeck, Jr. Ph.D., Author The Az= usa Street Mission & Revival: The Birth of the Global Pentecostal Movement<= o:p>

Professor of Church Hi= story and Ecumenics, Director of the David du Plesis Center for Christian Spirituality, Fuller Theological Seminary

The Azusa Street<= /st1:address> Centennial Celebratio= n

Billy Wilson, Centenni= al Executive Director, Azusa Street Centennial, April 25-29, 2006, Los Angeles, Center for Spiritual Renewal=

Azusa Street SpiritWal= k: Little Tokyo Cultural Tourism Project Mark Smith, Executive Director Azusa Street SpiritWalk Project, Azusa Street Memorial Committee CEO, Pario<= /o:p>

For information: Pleas= e call Evonne Wee, 213/473-1613

Azusa Street<= /st1:address> SpiritWalk Proposal

A Cultural Tourism Development Project

Azusa Street<= /st1:address>

Aerial view of the JACCC Noguchi Plaza and Azusa Street<= /st1:address> upper end of photo

The Azusa Street Spiri= tWalk Project will become one of the greatest spiritual tourists destinations for= Los Angeles, and Little Tokyo wil= l be known as the "Spiritual Door to the World" for the City of the An= gels. As the city grew from a little pueblo in the desert, churches were establis= hed around the civic center area. The Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, Jewish, and Pentecostals were all part of the spiritual birth of this emerging young city and today, it is part of a megapolis with over 10 million people living and working in the "Jewel of the Pacific."

312 Azusa Street Mission and Pastor Seymour and members of the Pentecostal Church

(Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)

Of historical signific= ance is the 312 Azusa Street Mission address. It is the Birthplace of the Pentecostal Movement, founded by William Seymour, a humbl= e, uneducated son of former slaves, on Apri= l 14, 1906. Today, the Movement embraces over 600 million followers throughout the world and is one of the fastest growing religious organizations in the history of mankind, according to "The Life Millennium: The 100 Most Important Eve= nts & People of the Past 1,000 Years." On April 25-29, 2006, over 100,000 members will come to Los Angeles to celebrate the Azusa Street Centennial, "The Spiritual Experience of a Lifetime."

Today, Azusa Street<= /st1:address> is used as a service = alley for delivery and trash removal trucks. The = 312 Azusa Street address is a blank gr= ay concrete wall. Except for a modest sign, very few worshippers are able to f= ind the street where the Azusa Street Mission Revival occurred. The Little Tokyo Azusa Street Memorial Committee is proposing to develop an Azusa Street SpiritWalk Promenade to commemorate the importance of the street to Little Tokyo and Los Angeles. Under the leadership= of Bill Watanabe, Executive Director of the Little Tokyo Service Center, the committee has been meeting for over 10 years to create an appropriate memor= ial for this historical site as well as help Little Tokyo capitalize on the potential tourists trade. The Azusa Street Centennial 2006 is crucial for solidifying the Azusa Street= as "The Mecca fo= r the Pentecostal Movement."

Request for $25,000 Feasibility Study

The $25,000 grant from= the Tom Bradley Foundation will be used to hire a development consultant to pre= pare a specific plan for the redevelopment of Azusa Street<= /st1:address>. Additional funds are= being raised from the Pentecostal Church, the Community Redevelopment Agency, Block 8 development, and an in-kind contribution from= the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.

Mayor Bradley's Involv= ement in the Azusa Street= project and the Isamu Noguchi Plaza Development

Isamu Noguchi explaini= ng to Mayor Tom Bradley about the development of the plaza

(Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)

In 1980, Isamu Noguchi proposed to Mayor Bradley the development of a plaza rather than a theatre = on the historical 312 Azusa Street Mission site. The knowledge o= r the significance of the site as the birthplace of the Pentecostal Movement was never known, mentioned, nor discussed in any of the deliberations. At the urging of Isamu Noguchi to create a plaza, Bradley provided the leadership = in convincing the Japanese American community leaders to consider Isamu Noguch= i's proposal. Thanks to Mayor Bradley's commitment of a million dollars, Isamu Noguchi's vision was realized. Thanks to Noguchi, 312 Azusa Street can have an appropria= te monument in order to acknowledge the Birthplace of the Pentecostal Movement= .

Site plan of the JACCC Campus and the Azusa Street= location

Photo of the Noguchi Sculptures "To the Issei" and the Japan America Theatre

The message is ready t= o be sent with the following file or link attachments:

Shortcut to: http://www.tombradleylegacy.org/<= /a>

Note: To protect again= st computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent sending or receiving certain types of file attachments. Ch= eck your e-mail security settings to determine how attachments are handled.