Sika Dwimfo — an artist, fashion icon and community activist known as the “baba,” a father figure or godfather of Leimert Park — died in the South Los Angeles neighborhood on June 22, his family said. He was 83 years old. A cause of death was not given.
His self-named store, Sika, has served the Los Angeles community since 1992 selling African-inspired art and jewelry, home decore, incense, and other pieces of interest curated by Dwimfo. Sika, which remains open in Leimert Park at 4330 Degnan Blvd. , is stocked with handmade jewelry, eclectic art and African goods.
Dwimfo was dedicated to his store and kept it going through many adversities, from the Los Angeles riots, through neighborhood gentrification and the COVID-19 pandemic, said his daughter Milan Dwimfo. On June 22, his daughter Milan wrote on Instagram , “My heart is broken to share that Sika is our newest ancestor..
. He loved you, Leimert.” Born in New Orleans in on December 26, 1940, Dwimfo moved to Chicago in 1953 at a young age after his caretaker and grandmother died.
In 1971, Dwimfo moved to Los Angeles and opened his first shop, Jua – meaning “the sun” in Swahili – on Adams Blvd. where he got his start selling art and handmade gold jewelry. Dwimfo fought to “keep Leimert Park Black,” his daughter said, setting up opportunities for Black vendors to sell their art and other works at street festivals.
There were times when his was one of only a handful of businesses open in Leimert Park, b.
