Ted Hayes

Ted Hayes
Hayes at a rally in support of U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean. Taken February 10, 2007, at the corner of Hollywood and Argyle, Los Angeles.
Born	Theodore Hayes, Jr. (1951-03-09) March 9, 1951 Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
Residence	Dome Village, Los Angeles
Occupation	Homeless and anti-illegal immigration activist
Political party	Republican
Children	Joanna D. Hayes, Theo Hayes

Theodore "Ted" Hayes, Jr. (born March 9, 1951) is an American advocate for the homeless and an activist.

Hayes' activism began in January 1985, when Justiceville, a community of homeless people in Los Angeles, was founded. It survived for five months, until authorities moved to shut down the shantytown. When they did, Hayes entered 35-day fast in protest. In 1987, with producer Tom Bolema and the Butchers, he recorded "Ted's Rap: Justiceville" about the bulldozing of the encampment.^[1]

In 1993 he founded Dome Village, a Los Angeles homeless facility consisting of geodesic domes designed by architect Craig Chamberlain and funded by ARCO. During the same year, he ran for mayor of Los Angeles during the primary election, receiving 0.63% of the vote.^[2] In the mid-1990s, he organized a youth- and homeless cricket team, now called the Compton Cricket Club, that toured Ireland and England and inspired an opera. He has served as president of the Los Angeles Social Cricket Alliance.^[3]

At the 2000 Democratic National Convention, Hayes, who was leading a contingent of homelessness activists, was shot with a rubber bullet by police.^[4]

In 2001 he ran unsuccessfully for the Los Angeles City Council seat of the 9th district, receiving 5.3% of the vote. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, he was criticized by Muslim leaders for his role in persuading the Los Angeles City Council to pass a resolution demanding that Muslims take a stronger stance against global terrorism.^[5] Recently, he has become a vocal critic of illegal immigration to the United States, joining the Minutemen Project at protests and staging his own.^[6] There was an altercation at an anti-illegal immigration rally at Leimert Park organized by Hayes.^[7]

He has founded several organizations, including the Black Elephants, a group of Black Republicans, and the Crispus Attucks Brigade, an African-American anti-illegal immigration group. The Crispus Attucks Brigade, is named for an African American man who was the first victim of the Boston Massacre. He also co-founded, along with Jesse Petrilla, the non-profit organization United American Committee, which educates Americans on the dangers of Islamism.^[8]

Hayes was a supporter of President George W. Bush's foreign policy. He is also critical of critics of Black Republicans, who he says are "vigorously vilified by Democrats".^[9]

The self-proclaimed Western or American "Gandhi", Hayes is known for being a colorful character, often sporting long flowing coats and wearing American flags as part of his dress, and a yarmulke. He is also known for being an advanced inline skater, rollerblading through skid row and Venice Beach. In 2008, Hayes became the Republican Congressional nominee against incumbent Maxine Waters in California's 35th congressional district.^[10] He lost that election, with 13% compared to 84% for Maxine Waters. However, he got more than ten times the votes per dollar of campaign expenditure as Waters did.

Featured in several award winning documentaries about homelessness and Cricket, Hayes has also occasionally appeared in Hollywood productions, including a role as himself in the 2000 film Pharaoh's Streets,^[11] as well as a homeless person on the sitcom 227.^[12]

His daughter Joanna Hayes is an Olympic gold medalist, and his son Theo is the co-coach of the cricket team.^[13]

References

External links

• Dome Village
• Ted Hayes at the Internet Movie Database
• Appearances on C-SPAN