Protestors Gather Outside Beverly Hills CEO Home

BEVERLY HILLS, CA— Protesters from the NAACP, Black Lives Matter, community group Downtown Crenshaw, and others marched through Beverly Hills Monday en route to the home of David Schwartzman, the CEO of a development group that is purchasing a Baldwin Hills Mall.

Demonstrators met at the intersection of Santa Monica and Beverly boulevards and marched along Hillcrest Drive to Schwartzman’s under-construction home, protesting what they call a racially motivated refusal to sell the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall, long considered a hub of Black life, to Downtown Crenshaw.

Downtown Crenshaw told City News Service that although they submitted a higher offer for the property, asset management group DWS awarded the contract to Schwartzman’s company Harridge Development.

“We don’t like that in 21st century America, in 2020, after this racial awakening has swept the country, that we still have to make clear that Black money is green and that Black people have a right to self-determination in their community,” Damien Goodmon said during Monday’s protest, which took place on the hundredth anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, when white mobs burned down Black businesses and homes on a successful commercial stretch known as “Black Wall Street.”

“We have $30 million in a bank account, far more than is necessary for a deposit, are backed by multiple socially responsible investors, and have some of the largest names in philanthropy and 300 community groups and leaders backing us,” Goodmon continued. “This is a no-brainer for anyone who actually wants to sell the mall.”

At the rally, Goodmon spoke of “40 Acres and a Mall,” a reference to the “40 acres and a mule” promised, but never delivered, to emancipated slaves after the Civil War.

“We can take this ‘40 Acres and a Mall,’ and it can be a space for development of our community, it can be a space for our liberation,” said Goodmon in footage captured by Beverly Hills Courier reporter Sam Braslow.

Goodman lays out his vision for what the “40 acres and a mall” could look like. He also says that Schwartzman offered to sell the property back to the group “at a premium.” pic.twitter.com/udFXKNX1iC

— Samuel Braslow (@SamBraslow) May 31, 2021

Schwartzman called Downtown Crenshaw’s activities “outlandish” in a statement to CBS, and said that it is “unfortunate this small group...so loudly want to get in the way of anything positive happening.”

DWS told CBS News that it conducted a “thorough and fair bidding process and has engaged diligently and constructively with community leaders about the purchase of Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.”

The sale is not yet final, and Downtown Crenshaw told CBS that it intends to block the contract from going through, as they have for many other contracts.

The protest concluded around 2:45 p.m., according to Beverly Hills police, and all roads were reopened. No arrests or injuries were reported.

— Patch staffer Michael Wittner and City News Service contributed to this report.