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Article: Accidental populist: 'Magic' Johnson is turning his economic prowess inward and helping the Black community
- Article from:
- New Pittsburgh Courier
- Article date:
- March 3, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright New Pittsburgh Courier Mar 3, 1999. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Accidental populist: `Magic' Johnson is turning his economic prowess inward and helping the Black community
LOS ANGELES--After leaving pro basketball, Earvin "Magic" Johnson found himself in a most unlikely place in 1996: A community meeting. He had just turned a drab, school cafeteria-size room at the Department of Water and Power, across the street from the Crenshaw mall, into a major film theater.
The meeting with an advisory body to the city's Community Redevelopment Agency that day represented just one of many of deals that promised to change neglect into opportunity and despair into hope.
The result: "Magic" Johnson opened his multiplex movie house on the grounds of the mall, and ...