Alejandra Molina Laddie Williams is photographed on Sunday, July 11, 2021, outside First Baptist Church of Venice in Los Angeles. Williams, a lifelong Oakwood resident, began sitting outside the church in 2017, in protest of the sale of the church. Others became involved in the churchâs preservation efforts after seeing her sitting outside the church. (Alejandra Molina/RNS via AP) July 27, 2021 - 12:01 PM LOS ANGELES (RNS) â On a recent Sunday, about 10 people sat outside the steps of the boarded-up First Baptist Church of Venice, a century-old congregation that, to many, remains a symbol of the thriving Black population that once existed in the seaside town of Los Angeles.