April 10, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 62 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E447-E448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE LEGACY OF ERMIAS JOSEPH ASGHEDOM, KNOWN ALSO AS NIPSEY 
           HUSSLE, AND HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOUTH LOS ANGELES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAREN BASS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 10, 2019

  Ms. BASS. Madam Speaker, may this entry serve as enduring recognition 
of the legacy lived and left by Ermias Joseph Asghedom, known to his 
community and the neighborhoods of South Los Angeles and beyond, as 
Nipsey Hussle.
  Nipsey Hussle was born in the Hyde Park neighborhood of South Los 
Angeles in 1985. His father was the only member of his own family in 
Eritrea to move to the United States, where he met Nipsey Hussle's 
mother. As a teen, Nipsey attended Alexander Hamilton High School, as 
did I, as did many in South Los Angeles. He went on to pursue a music 
career that would touch millions, culminating in national recognition 
for his studio album ``Victory Lap''.
  An innovator, entrepreneur and community investor, Nipsey Hussle used 
the platform he created with his music to further demonstrate not only 
his business savvy, but his love and pride for where he came from in 
addition to showing the importance of community ownership and 
reinvestment. In the same way he went from selling mixtapes on the 
corner of Crenshaw and Slauson to owning the masters of his GRAMMY-
nominated album, Nipsey Hussle went from trademarking his clothing 
line, to owning the stores selling his trademarked clothing line, to 
owning the shopping plaza where the store selling his clothing line was 
located.
  Marathon Clothing is a technologically ground-breaking store that 
could have been opened anywhere. Nipsey Hussle opened it on Slauson and 
Crenshaw. South Los Angeles was where he invested; opening a barbershop 
and two restaurants in that same intersection, reopening the World on 
Wheels skating rink in Mid-City, and partnering with Vector 90, one of 
the first work spaces and incubators in South L.A. designed to support 
black and brown entrepreneurship locally. He also worked with the Los 
Angeles City Council on Destination Crenshaw, a project to be built 
for, by, and in honor of our community in celebration of the historical 
and contemporary contributions of Black L.A. and the Crenshaw 
community.
  Throughout his projects, Nipsey Hussle brought the neighborhood with 
him. In working to ensure that the community was knowledgeable about 
their economic power, Nipsey Hussle made sure to give jobs to residents 
in the neighborhood who were struggling, some of which were homeless 
and formerly incarcerated. He once provided a pair of shoes to every 
student at 59th Street Elementary School and also donated to renovate 
the school's playground and basketball courts. He inspired many others 
in the entertainment industry to actively invest in South Los Angeles 
neighborhoods as well.
  A humble visionary, Nipsey Hussle initiated peace in a community 
where experiences of systematic injustices appear in the form of police 
brutality and gang violence. He saw the overlooked and welcomed the 
dismissed. He

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was an activist working to reduce gun violence in the community, 
hosting demonstrations and symposiums over the years. He was slated to 
meet with the Los Angeles Police Department about reducing gun violence 
in the community the day after he was murdered.
  He taught and reminded our community that the power we hold is the 
power we come from and that awareness of our power is something no one 
can take from us. Nipsey Hussle will be remembered as a visionary, as a 
protector, as an inspiration, as a philanthropist, as a father, as a 
brother and as an unabashed son of South Los Angeles. For all he was 
given, he gave back. And for that legacy, South Los Angeles has been 
changed forever.

                          ____________________