MAINTAIN THE MYSTERY 🦓🦒🐘🦍

BREAKING: South Central Is Mecca is now in Library of Congress and The Los Angeles Public Library. Not only is our book available on the shelf at the DTLA Central Library, you can also place a hold and have it transfer to ANY of LA Public Libraries 76 Branches. For the first time, if you have a library card or an e-card, you can read and borrow South Central is Mecca for free at any local public library in LA County. Come get caught up in time for Part 2. Season 04 premiering very soon. SCIM Shelf Location: 979. 494. S645 Central Address: 630 W. 5th Street Excited for a new era at MTM. Allow me to reintroduce myself.

Tha Wait Is Ova! MTM HISTORY BOOK SERIES “South Central Is Mecca Pt 1” will be RELEASED fa my late Great Grandmother birthday on JULY 10th! For the first time ever, our history book series will be presented in a coffee table / magazine fashion while reading like a TV Series Script coming from Tha Hood Private Investigator wit family ties. A literal two plus year investigation! Brought to you by: Maintain The Mystery & TenSixteen Industries Original Artwork by: @jaypgallery @originaljayp Book Cover Design by: @sham1016 Executive Produced by: Shqunda Cooper (@cooper.said ) John Guillory (@johnquessmokeout ) DeMarco Smith & Miriam Haregot Thanks @okaymiri fa making this project possible by making sure every single historic photo we used could be documented in this book. We did what no other book did and really captured the story that being written about. To fully create the classic that I wanted, You had to go thru hundreds of photo clearance to even get here. I love you forever, it’s time to make our mothers rich and take charge for our community. EVERYBODY COUNT AND PLAYED A ROLE TO GET HERE UNSELFISHLY! NONE OF THIS WOULDN’T BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT EVERY SINGLE PERSON CONTRIBUTION TO HELP BRING THE VISION OF THIS PROJECT TO LIFE THANK YOU ALL WHETHER IT WAS DIRECT AND INDIRECT OR JUS TIMING AND ALIGNMENT! I wrote the thank you’s in the book so family n friends can find their name on the last page of A HISTORY BOOK FOREVER!!!!😎

HAPPY 240TH ANNIVERSARY LA! This is a day to celebrate our ancestor who founded, built and basically owned Los Angeles. Your history teacher is a liar. StoLAnd Greatness on the way. I got something comin, brand new, all pure 🏁

Dear Village, It has been 1,377 days since we last spoke on South Central Is Mecca Part One. After four years and twelve different versions—starting from scratch each time—I have returned. I am rooted, ready, and released. Eye has not seen, and ear has not heard. Meet God Son, Kingdom Builder, and The Apex. I am thrilled to update you on the upcoming release of South Central is Mecca Part II arriving this May. I didn’t die, I lived. and now I’m telling the world what God Did! While our last history book release South Central is Mecca Part I featured 370 black-and-white pages, our new release of South Central Is Mecca is an epic 818-page full-color experience—a “bookmobile museum,” so to speak. We are taking South Central is Mecca nationwide, and you are the builders of this kingdom. I refuse to settle for anything less than greatness because that is what our village deserves. “You don’t know a thing about our story, tell it wrong all the time, you don’t know a thing about our glory, you just wanna steal my baby’s shine.” “God told me to tell you for the next ten years—Love God, Love your city and the world will come looking for you.” - Pastor Mike. This work is dedicated to the loving memory of Cleer Marie Alvern Cooper. Front Cover Artwork by: Jared “JayP” McGhee Book Design by: Kleshaam ‘Sham1016’ Shakir

Black Historian in South Central LA

Cleer Forever 🕊️ you’ve enriched us fa 19 years with your gentle spirit and given us the privilege to have a permanent source of joy and laughter through every moment spent with you. Even in transition, you stand over our shoulder and sweep through our daydream and given us the strength for one mo ride. You greet us in those reflection daze and allow us to find joy even in grief. You travel tha world many times mama! What some considered a bucket list, is what you already gained life experience from. Forever grateful fa this memory bank you’ve blessed us. LOVE YOU. 🕊️

Cleer, it’s been two weeks since your transition and I’ve been at sea as grief washed over my brain. Mentally I’m still reliving Sunday, June 15, it’s the last day we all took one final ride together for father day. Such a profound experience, who woulda guess that the very next day we would hear that you transition and passed away three times in surgery. Knew it was divine when we rode in silence together on our final ride. Look at God. “Everything is fluid, no matter how solid, no matter how thin, it’s all flow.” I felt the heavens comforting you so vividly on day one. When I’m out, I see you in a form of the hummingbird and butterfly who greet me so comfortably on my morning walks and balcony sessions. For the past two years, we’ve been fighting a silent battle quietly. Life completely shifted when you were diagnosed with Lupus in 2023 and had to reroute the dreams of going to NY for college to come back home and fighting this altering disease. When you had to leave NYU, the inspo went bankrupt and I was struggling to lead, struggling to build MTM, to keep momentum and stay consistent in the assignment while not addressing the elephant in the room. I was so obsessed with the idealistic of you being able to live to the fullest from jump street that I couldn’t truly face the reality of lupus altering yo life so drastically fast. A pill I had such a hard time swallowing. Each day was unpredictable with pins and needles and evidence of how God is mysteriously always working. One week you battling lupus and the next you back home. The last four years, I had front seat to your rapid growth. The kind spirit that was always great sight to see. From morning drive to Price, listening to Kdot & Nipsey, picking u up from cheerleading practices, fox hills and the grove to yo first summer job at Baskin Robbins. Then you learn how to drive and now we running into each other on the 110 lol. Your existence been responsible for so much growth and been a motivating factor in my life. Thank for blessing us with the gift of memories. Yo last phone call & visit is more valuable than Gold could ever be. This next chapter is dedicated to you and raising #lupusawareness

Year Two Recap of Maintain The Mystery & Audubon Middle Partnership. Another successful semester introducing our South Central Is Mecca Curriculum alongside our Textbooks and Coloring Book to our new eighth grade class at Audubon. Students say this the best class they ever had! Our curriculum help discover unique skills via architecture class where students designed their own floor plans, or public perception and critical thinking where they showcase emotional intelligence and having a homegrown textbook that even highlight some of the student families, given them immediate pride and willingness to learn more. Students were quoted asking their teacher more questions about Sundown Town, Charlotta Bass and Ruth Temple after our classes. Thanks to our amazing educational department constantly growing, we had some of the best in the field help execute the program further. We’ll be back for year three to expand the program to greater heights and maximize student potential! #BSAPLausd #SouthCentralIsMecca

Tha most dangerous thing in America is a ngga wit a Library Card! South Central Is Mecca is now available to borrow at your local library. Visit Downtown LA Central Lobrary for immediate access on book shelves. Level: Lower Level 4 (History & Genealogy) Shelf Location: 979. 494. S645 You can apply & receive yo library card instantly. 📸: @azsavant

My interview w/ Essence Girl United dropped this morning fa Juneteenth! You’ll be learning how to properly store black archives for future generations to learn and connect. Just like fellow Archivist @endiyaah who currently allowing folks to bring the physical into the digital. We discussed everything from childhood to MTM Curriculum being put inside of LAUSD Schools ALONGSIDE OUR HOMEGROWN TEXTBOOKS! READ NOW: /fedback/gu-juneteenth-black-archives/ ✍🏾 by Nabou Ramu (Seyna Clark) @nabou.ramu Tap in @essencegu_

#LACHSAwardGala: On May 19, Malcolm X Birthday, I had the highest honor of being awarded by @lacityhistory for significant contributions to Los Angeles and its history at the Historic @taixfrench restaurant. This award and speech is dedicated to my late great grandmother “Eulise Barbara Dilllard”. Ima represent you in everything that I do. Had the chance to break a huge barrier as a young native from Eastside South Central Los Angeles, the most neglected section in LA while having some of the richest history in the city. Being in control of our stories and maintaining our own narratives, culture and history, like my lil bro Jaden would say…. Tha legit way 🙏🏾

Historic Honors. Ahead of accepting award at the first LA City Historical Society Awards Gala since the pandemic on Sunday, LACHS sent out an mass email and social media blast for major contribution to Los Angeles and its history 🙏🏾 Looking forward to everyone in attendance at @taixfrench on May 19th! 5:30pm to 9pm. El-Shabazz Birthday and I got sumthin to say 🫰🏾