Erika D. Smith is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times writing about the people, politics and quest for a more equitable California. She joined The Times in 2018 as an assistant editor, expanding coverage of the state’s homelessness and affordable housing crises. She previously worked at the Sacramento Bee as a columnist and editorial board member. Before the Bee, Smith wrote for the Indianapolis Star and Akron Beacon Journal. She is a graduate of Ohio University and a native of Cleveland.
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Commentary on people, politics and the quest for a more equitable California.
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Latest From This Author
As the flooding of a tiny home village demonstrates, climate change puts new pressures on efforts to quickly bring people indoors and keep them safe.
Feb. 18, 2024
Forget the politics of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. The politics being debated in the California city lately are more conservative than progressive.
Feb. 10, 2024
Instead of a cohesive strategy to compensate Black people for slavery, lawmakers are pushing a confusing list of bills on which they don’t all agree.
Feb. 2, 2024
Tied up in court, SB 2 bans concealed carry almost everywhere — a blow to domestic violence victims failed by the state and worried about self-defense.
Jan. 19, 2024
With the climate crisis, people of color have to do more than just fight the same old fights for racial justice. A new campaign is trying to help.
Jan. 15, 2024
In the coming days, the narrative will be that Mayor Bass ousted Moore because she crossed him. But there were more important reasons he needed to go.
Jan. 13, 2024
The Republican presidential candidate’s cowardly revisionist history of slavery has prompted a surprising wave of bipartisan scorn. Is this progress?
Dec. 28, 2023
Mayor Karen Bass talks about the thousands she’s moved into interim housing. But it’s the removal of encampments that will make Angelenos believe it.
Dec. 10, 2023
Following complaints, elected officials have backed away from an ambitious idea for the Marina Freeway. But can L.A. afford to keep indulging NIMBYs?
Oct. 28, 2023
What was supposed to be a win with the appointment of Laphonza Butler is testing California’s political sisterhood and loyalties to Rep. Barbara Lee.
Oct. 8, 2023