South Central Flea Market debuts with a social justice mission

Hosted by Youth Justice Coalition and Qawal, South Los Angeles Flea Market hosted its first slate of local vendors near Huntington Park and Watts on Saturday.

Qawal is a local family-owned retail business collaborating with Youth Justice Coalition, a South L.A. nonprofit that works towards ending mass incarceration and dismantling L.A.’s juvenile incarceration system. YJC works closely with young residents in South Central to support educational initiatives and combat racial and structural barriers to their personal and professional successes.

“My goal with this market was really to build community over competition,” said Leslie Mendoza, the co-owner of Qawal. “That’s the main objective that I wanted to do with this: hosting a market, but not having people feel like they have to compete for their sales.”

Mendoza, whose company focuses on “highlighting artisan craftsmanship,” wanted this market to be different from the rest in L.A.

“I feel as a small business owner, when you go to different pop ups or different events, supporting other communities, you’re competing with other vendors, other small businesses for people to buy your art or buy your crafts,” Mendoza said.

Beni Benitez, an organizer with YJC, said the market also catered to South Central residents who may be limited by time or proximity to visit other flea markets in the city.

“We realized other vendors’ markets that were welcoming were outside of South Central, so we had to drive a couple hours outside of South Central,” Benitez said. “People are not going to have to drive hours away from [their] own community to see these products. It’s going to be people within the same community selling your stuff.”

The South Central Flea Market on Saturday featured a diverse slate of local vendors, including Ana Rodriguez, an Indigenous, first generation, queer business owner of Raiz Vibrations, where she offers services as a Reiki practitioner.

“This event is definitely reflective of the energy that I want around me and in the community,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t have a lot of experience in vending and in pop-ups, but this is by far my favorite. It was just beautiful. The community was really supportive.”

As a homegrown resident of South Central, Rodriguez said she witnessed the impacts of gentrification in her community and wanted to do her part to resist it. She chose to sell at the flea market for this reason, supporting YJC’s mission for the “liberation of Black and brown bodies in South Central,” she said.

“Not many [flea markets] in South Central have such an impact on the community and are able to actually help the community,” Rodriguez said. “It’s really beautiful to see that there are spaces where people can feel safe, can learn history, can learn different cultures.”

Adriana Cabrera is the founder of FirstGenLA, a business led by and for first generation college graduates and professionals. Cabrera’s team comprises South Central residents aiming to build space for their own community, because residents often can’t access event space in most buildings in their own neighborhoods, she said.

“A lot of us are young entrepreneurs, who are also first generation entrepreneurs, who are also breaking cycles of poverty and violence,” Cabrera said.

Diego Deellay, a lifelong resident of South Central, met Cabrera online and came to the market to support local businesses like hers.

“I wanted to come, support the community, support the street vendors, support small business owners here in South Central,” Deellay said, “so we can go ahead and keep the money in our community and help each other grow.”

Benitez said the flea market spotlights handcrafted goods and local artists whose work take the time, care and effort customers don’t typically see at corporate or chain stores nearby.

“It’s easy to get an object that’s mass produced,” Benitez said. “But there’s value in folks who make it by hand, because you put sweat, blood and tears into it. "

Deellay believes the flea market can also inspire younger residents to start their own businesses in the area, helping diminish tired narratives of South Central as “crime-infested,” he said.

Saturday’s market was the first hosted by Qawal and YJC, and Benitez and Mendoza hope it becomes a regular fixture in local residents’ calendars.

“My goal is to do this market at least once a month and make it reoccurring,” Mendoza said. “And every single time we do this market, my goal is to bring in different vendors so that everyone gets a chance to be a part of this amazing collaboration.”

Mendoza also said that the only way the market can happen again is if people come out and support the local vendors.

The next South Central Flea Market is set to be held in April at Chuco’s Justice Center at 7625 S. Central Ave. Visitors can stay posted on upcoming events and details on the market’s official Instagram account.