Skip to Content
Homelessness

Photo Essay ~ Walk the Talk Parade 2018 in Skid Row

[dropcap size=big]R[/dropcap]oughly one hundred volunteers, activists, musicians and residents of Skid Row got together for the annual Walk the Talk Parade, hosted by the Los Angeles Poverty Department in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday.

Since launching in 1985 the LAPD has promoted the arts as a tool to help the homeless and in 2012 they started Walk the Talk to honor members of their community that give people a voice.  This year’s honorees included LA Philharmonic violinist and advocate Vijay Gupta, former resident of the notorious Frontier Hotel (now known as the Rossyln Lofts) turned activist Steve Diaz, Skid Row podcaster Bobby Buck and more.

The impressive Street Symphony marching ensemble had many residents of Skid Row on their feet, dancing in the streets with noticeable smiles on their faces while others reminisced about New Orleans jazz or their former days as an artist. This event draws attention to the massive amount of talent and diversity that resides in Skid Row. Gupta, who founded the Street Symphony in 2012, described the artistic community in Skid Row during his acceptance speech passionately as, “the most resilient artistic community in the country today.”

The close-knit group of supporters worked through technical difficulties and 80-degree full sun in high spirits. Walk the Talk speaks to the integrity of the people that live in Skid Row and shows the rest of Los Angeles that there is community and talent east of Broadway.

RELATED: Homelessness Is So Bad This Man Chained Himself to a Fence and Went on a Hunger Strike

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Opinion: Senator Padilla’s Arrest is Proof Trump Wants to Silence Truth At All Costs

At the moment of Padilla’s arrest, he was no longer a sitting senator, or citizen of this country, he became just another Mexican. Trump is primed to lose the Battle for Los Angeles, not because he lacks resources or loyal followers, but because he doesn't even understand the battlefield itself. 

13 Arrested As Protest Against Palantir Occupies Sunset Boulevard Lobby of Thiel Capital

"Palantir represents how billionaires make a profit by hurting families," said one protester at the demonstration. "We have to remember: this is just the first step."

June 13, 2025

Can Anti-Surveillance Makeup Protect Protesters from Facial Recognition Software?

Known as Computer Vision Dazzle, or CV Dazzle, this abstract style of makeup was created by artist and researcher Adam Harvey for his 2010 master's thesis at NYU. While traditional camo is designed as a disruptive pattern meant to hide the wearer from the human eye, CV Dazzle was created to break machine vision systems.  The name comes from “Dazzle,” a type of camouflage on battleships in WWI and WWII that used complex patterns of contrasting geometric shapes to make it difficult for enemies to determine their speed and distance.

June 13, 2025

BREAKING: ICE Confirmed Abductions at Taco Truck in East L.A.

"They snatch you like a dog. The streets ain't safe, that's all I gotta say," says the Jason Devora after witnessing it all and still in shock about it.

June 12, 2025
See all posts