South Los Angeles - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A. and formerly South Central Los Angeles, is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. The area was formerly called South Central, and is still widely known as such by its residents. It borders the Westside on the northwest, and Downtown LA on the northeast.

In 2003, the city of Los Angeles changed the area's official name to South Los Angeles in hopes of removing the associations of urban decay

Urban decay

Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...

and street crime

Street crime

Street crime is a loose term for criminal offences taking place in public places. It has moved to occupy the place once held by mugging. According to London's Metropolitan Police Force, street crime is:...

with which the name South Central had become associated.
The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

uses both the old and new names to describe the area. Some residents of the Los Angeles area (including residents of South Los Angeles) still use the old name. Prominent figures from South L.A., such as Ice Cube

Ice Cube

O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...

, also continue to refer to the area as South Central.

It is home to the University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

, founded in 1880, as well as the Doheny Campus of Mount St. Mary's College, which was founded in 1920. The 1932

1932 Summer Olympics

The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...

and 1984 Olympic Games

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

took place near the USC

University of Southern California

campus at neighboring Exposition Park

Exposition Park (Los Angeles)

Exposition Park is located in University Park, Los Angeles, California, across the street from the University of Southern California. Exposition Park houses the following:* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum* Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena...

, which hosts the Los Angeles Coliseum. Until the 1920s, West Adams was one of the most desirable areas of the city. Then development of the Wilshire Boulevard corridor drew Los Angeles' development to the west of downtown.

As the wealthy were building stately mansions in West Adams

West Adams, Los Angeles, California

West Adams, also known as Historic West Adams, is a large district located in the center of Los Angeles, California, southwest of Downtown and west of USC...

and Jefferson Park

Jefferson Park, Los Angeles, California

-Geography and transportation:Jefferson Park's boundaries are, roughly, Western Avenue on the east, Adams on the north, Crenshaw Boulevard on the west, and Exposition Boulevard/Rodeo Road on the south. It is bordered by Arlington Heights on the north, Mid-City on the northwest, Leimert Park/King...

, the white working class was establishing itself in Crenshaw

Crenshaw, Los Angeles, California

Crenshaw is a neighborhood and district in southwestern Los Angeles, California. It derives its name from Crenshaw Boulevard, one of the city's principal thoroughfares....

and Hyde Park

Hyde Park, Los Angeles, California

-History:Hyde Park is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles. It was established in 1887 as a stop on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's Harbor Subdivision, which ran from Downtown Los Angeles to the port at Wilmington in a westward loop.It was incorporated as a city...

. Affluent blacks gradually moved into West Adams and Jefferson Park as the decades passed.

At the same time, the area of modest bungalows and low-rise commercial buildings along Central Avenue emerged as the heart of the black community in southern California. It had one of the first jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

scenes in the western U.S., with trombonist Kid Ory

Kid Ory

Edward "Kid" Ory was a jazz trombonist and bandleader. He was born in Woodland Plantation near LaPlace, Louisiana.-Biography:...

a prominent resident. Under racially restrictive covenants, blacks were allowed to own property only within the Main-Slauson-Alameda-Washington box and in Watts, as well as in small enclaves elsewhere in the city. The working- and middle-class blacks who poured into Los Angeles during the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

and in search of jobs during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

found themselves penned into what was becoming a severely overcrowded neighborhood. During the war, blacks faced such dire housing shortages that the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles

Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles is the public housing agency for Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1938. There are more than 60 public housing locations in Los Angeles.-History:...

built the virtually all-black Pueblo Del Rio

Pueblo Del Rio

Pueblo Del Rio is a public housing project located in south-central Los Angeles, California. The address of Pueblo Del Rio is 1801 East 53rd Street, which is near the intersection of 55th and Alameda streets....

project, which ran against its previous policy of integrating all of its housing projects.

1948-1960s

When the Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

banned the legal enforcement of race-oriented restrictive covenant

Restrictive covenant

A restrictive covenant is a type of real covenant, a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something. Such restrictions frequently "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property...

s in 1948's Shelley v. Kraemer
Shelley v. Kraemer
Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 , is a United States Supreme Court case which held that courts could not enforce racial covenants on real estate.-Facts of the case:...

, blacks began to move into areas outside the increasingly overcrowded Slauson-Alameda-Washington-Main settlement area. For a time in the early 1950s, southern Los Angeles became the site of significant racial violence, with whites bombing, firing into, and burning crosses on the lawns of homes purchased by black families south of Slauson. In an escalation of behavior that began in the 1920s, white gang

Gang

A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...

s in nearby cities such as South Gate

South Gate, California

South Gate is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The sixteenth largest city in Los Angeles County, it encompasses . South Gate is located just southeast of downtown Los Angeles It is part of the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County...

and Huntington Park

Huntington Park, California

Huntington Park is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 58,114, down from 61,348 at the 2000 census.- History :...

routinely accosted blacks who traveled through white areas. The black mutual protection clubs that formed in response to these assaults became the basis of the region's fearsome street gangs.

As in most urban areas, 1950s freeway construction radically altered the geography of southern Los Angeles. Freeway routes tended to reinforce traditional segregation lines. The Harbor Freeway ran just to the west of Main Street, and the Santa Monica Freeway just to the north of Washington Boulevard. The Marina Freeway was originally to run near Slauson Avenue all the way to the Orange County

Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

line, but was deemed redundant and went unbuilt except for its westernmost portions.

However well the freeways worked in moving cars around, they were decidedly unsuccessful as instruments of segregation. The explosive growth of suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

s, most of which barred blacks by a variety of methods, provided the opportunity for whites in neighborhoods bordering black districts to leave en masse. The spread of blacks throughout the area was achieved in large part through "blockbusting

Blockbusting

Blockbusting is a business practice of U.S. real estate agents and building developers meant to encourage white property owners to sell their houses at a loss, by implying that racial, ethnic, or religious minorities — Blacks, Hispanics, Jews et al. — were moving into their previously racially...

," a technique whereby real estate speculators would buy a home on an all-white street, sell or rent it to a black family, and then buy up the remaining homes from whites at cut-rate prices and sell them at a hefty profit to housing-hungry blacks.

This process accelerated after the Watts Riots

Watts Riots

The Watts Riots or the Watts Rebellion was a civil disturbance in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California from August 11 to August 15, 1965. The 5-day riot resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and 3,438 arrests...

of 1965. The riots resulted in an abandonment of southern Los Angeles by white residents and merchants. Middle-class blacks also left the area, moving to the north and west. By the late 1960s most of Los Angeles south of Pico Boulevard

Pico Boulevard

Pico Boulevard is a major Los Angeles street that runs from the Pacific Ocean at Appian Way in Santa Monica to Central Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California, USA...

and east of La Brea Avenue

La Brea Avenue

La Brea Avenue is a prominent north/south thoroughfare in Los Angeles. Several museums are located along La Brea, and it is known for having many stores and eateries.-Description:...

had become overwhelmingly black. Areas wealthy (Baldwin Hills

Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California

Baldwin Hills is a community and neighborhood in the South Los Angeles area of Los Angeles, within southwestern Los Angeles County, California...

, West Adams) and impoverished (Watts) alike were referred to by the media as "South Central," even if they were 10 miles from the intersection of Vernon and Central Avenues. The Santa Monica Freeway formed the northern boundary of the "new" South Central, primarily dividing the middle-class blacks of Mid-Wilshire

Mid-Wilshire

Mid-Wilshire is a district in the City of Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Wilshire region.It mostly encompasses the area bounded by La Cienega Boulevard to the west, Melrose Avenue to the north, Hoover Street to the east and the Santa Monica Freeway to the south, although some...

from the poor and working-class blacks to the south.

1970s-1990s

Beginning in the 1970s, the precipitous decline of the area's manufacturing base resulted in a loss of the jobs that had allowed skilled union workers to have a middle class life. The downtown Los Angeles' service sector, which had long been dominated by unionized African Americans earning relatively high wages, replaced most black workers with newly arrived Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

n immigrants.

Widespread unemployment, poverty

Poverty

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

and street crime

Street crime

contributed to the rise of street gangs in South Central, such as the Crips

Crips

The Crips are a primarily, but not exclusively, African American gang. They were founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969 mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams...

and Bloods

Bloods

The Bloods are a street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. They are identified by the red color worn by their members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs...

. They became even more powerful with money from drugs, especially the crack cocaine

Crack cocaine

Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...

trade, dominated by gangs in the 1980s.

By the time of the 1992 Los Angeles riots

1992 Los Angeles riots

The 1992 Los Angeles Riots or South Central Riots, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest were sparked on April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white and one hispanic Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a...

, which began in South Central and spread throughout the city, South Central had become a national byword for urban decay. Its bad reputation was broadcast by movies such as Colors
Colors (film)
Colors is a 1988 police procedural crime film starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall and directed by Dennis Hopper. The story takes place in South Central Los Angeles, and is about Bob Hodges , an experienced LAPD Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums Police Officer III, and his rookie partner,...

, South Central, Menace II Society
Menace II Society
Menace II Society is a 1993 urban crime drama and the directorial debut of twin brothers Allen and Albert Hughes. Menace II Society is set in South Central Los Angeles and follows the life of a hoodlum named Caine Lawson and his close friends. The film gained notoriety for its frequent scenes of...

, Friday
Friday (film)
Friday is a 1995 stoner comedy-drama-buddy film directed by F. Gary Gray. Starring Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Bernie Mac, Tommy Lister, Jr...

, South Central native John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood
Boyz N the Hood
Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American hood film written and directed by John Singleton. Starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Angela Bassett and Regina King, the film depicts life in poor South Central Los Angeles, California and was filmed and released...

and in music by the rap group N.W.A.

N.W.A.

N.W.A was an American hip hop group from Compton, California, widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre....

's album Straight Outta Compton
Straight Outta Compton
The lyrics on the album were mainly written by Ice Cube and MC Ren. Critics of the album expressed their view that the record glamorized Black-on-Black crime, but the emcees stated that the group was simply showing the reality of living in the areas of Compton, California, and South Central Los...

.

One of the most inspiring stories to help improve the notorious area's bad reputation is that of a group of ex gang members joining together to create the first American born cricket team, the Compton Cricket Club

Compton Cricket Club

The Compton Cricket Club , or the "Homies and the Popz", is a cricket club based in Compton, Los Angeles County, California, USA. The CCC is the only all American-born exhibition cricket team...

2000s-present

South Los Angeles is known for its gangs.

Geographic definition

The name "South Central" originally referred to an area bounded roughly by Main Street on the west and Washington Boulevard on the north, and sharply by Slauson Avenue (which had Santa Fe Railroad track running alongside it) on the south and Alameda Street (including Southern Pacific Railroad

Southern Pacific Railroad

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

track) on the east. The area lies directly south of downtown Los Angeles with Central Avenue bisecting it from north to south. Interstate 110 also known as the Harbor Freeway, runs right through the heart of South Central.

After WWII

World War II

, police

Los Angeles Police Department

The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...

, fire

Los Angeles Fire Department

The Los Angeles Fire Department is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Los Angeles....

and city officials

Los Angeles City Council

The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles.The Council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the Council at the first regular meeting after...

coined the term "South Central" because of its southern proximity from downtown on Central Avenue.

Since the 1950s, the definition of "South Central" has gradually expanded to include all of the areas of the city of Los Angeles (and small unincorporated pockets of Los Angeles County) lying south of the Santa Monica Freeway, east of La Brea Avenue

La Brea Avenue

La Brea Avenue is a prominent north/south thoroughfare in Los Angeles. Several museums are located along La Brea, and it is known for having many stores and eateries.-Description:...

and north of the Century Freeway. Some incorporated cities outside of L.A. city limits lying east of Alameda Street are considered identifiable with South L.A. to some extent by their urban or "inner city

Inner city

The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...

" characteristics. From the time of the Watts riots of 1965 to the L.A. riots of 1992, South Central was perceived to be the heart of black Los Angeles and among the largest African-American communities in the nation.

More recently "South Los Angeles" has adopted the acronym SoLA.

Demographics

The demography of South Los Angeles had been changing rapidly throughout the 20th Century. Up until the early 1960s, most of the region was predominantly white

White American

White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...

. In the 1980s, middle class black families left the region for other communities in the city of Los Angeles or other California municipalities. By the end of the 1980s, South Los Angeles had an increasing amount of Belizeans, Hispanics and Latinos

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...

, but it was not until the 1990s when Belizean & Hispanic immigrants from Central America

Central America

began arriving in substantial numbers to buy or rent apartments and houses, some of which were vacated by African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

renters. The region's black population halved between 1990 and 2010.

In the 2000 census, the designate area of South Los Angeles had a population of 520,461. Roughly 55% of the residents were Belizean, Hispanic or Latino, while 60% were African American. A large percentage of small stores and shops are owned by Asian American

Asian American

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

immigrants, especially Koreans

Korean American

Korean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...

and Indians

Indian American

Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestral roots lie in India. The U.S. Census Bureau popularized the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Indigenous peoples of the Americas who are commonly referred to as American Indians.-The term: Indian:...

. Filipinos

Filipino American

Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...

have also had a visible presence in the area and Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

are a sizable percentage of apartment rental tenants.

Landmarks

Watts Towers
Watts Towers
The Watts Towers or Towers of Simon Rodia in the Watts district of Los Angeles, California, is a collection of 17 interconnected structures, two of which reach heights of over 99 feet . The Towers were built by Italian immigrant construction worker Sabato Rodia in his spare time over a period of...
King/Drew Medical Center
Jordan Downs
Jordan Downs, Los Angeles, California
Jordan Downs Housing Projects is a 700-unit public housing apartment complex in Watts, Los Angeles, California next to David Starr Jordan High School. It consists of 103 buildings with townhouse style units ranging in size from one bedroom to five bedrooms. The complex is owned and managed by the...
Nickerson Gardens
Nickerson Gardens, Los Angeles, California
Nickerson Gardens is a 1054-unit public housing apartment complex at 1590 East 114th Street in Watts, Los Angeles, California.Nickerson Gardens consists of 156 buildings with townhouse style units ranging in size from one bedroom to five bedrooms. It was completed in the year 1955, and the...
Imperial Courts
Imperial Courts, Los Angeles, California
Imperial Courts is a public housing project located in Watts, Los Angeles, California.It is located at 11541 Croesus Avenue on Imperial Highway between Grape Street and Mona Boulevard, near the 105 Freeway....
Exposition Park
Exposition Park (Los Angeles)
Exposition Park is located in University Park, Los Angeles, California, across the street from the University of Southern California. Exposition Park houses the following:* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum* Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena...
California African-American Museum
California African-American Museum
The California African American Museum is a museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA.-History:The museum opened in 1981, in temporary quarters at the California Museum of Science and Industry . The current facility was built with State and private funds of around $5 million...
Dunbar Hotel
Dunbar Hotel
The Dunbar Hotel, originally known as the Hotel Somerville, was the focal point of the Central Avenue African-American community in Los Angeles, California during the 1930s and 1940s. Built in 1928, it was known for its first year as the Hotel Somerville...
Lincoln Theater
Lincoln Theater (Los Angeles, California)
The Lincoln Theater is a historic theater in South Los Angeles, California. The Moorish Revival building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009...
28th Street YMCA
28th Street YMCA
The 28th Street YMCA is a historic YMCA building in South Los Angeles, California. It was listed as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2006 and on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The four-story structure was built in 1926 at a cost of $200,000. The building was...
Second Baptist Church
Second Baptist Church (Los Angeles, California)
Second Baptist Church is a historically African-American Baptist church located in South Los Angeles, California. The current Lombardy Romanesque Revival building was built in 1926 and has been listed as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and on the National Register of Historic Places...
Central Avenue
Central Avenue (Los Angeles)
Central Avenue is a major north-south thoroughfare in the central portion of the Los Angeles, California metropolitan area. Located just to the west of the Alameda Corridor, it runs from the eastern end of the Los Angeles Civic Center south, ending at Del Amo Boulevard in Carson...

Communities

South Los Angeles also refers to a district under the same name of city of Los Angeles southeast of South Park

South Park, Los Angeles, California

South Park is a district in central Los Angeles, California, originally located around South Park near the intersection of 51st Street and Avalon Boulevard in South Central Los Angeles. However, due to redevelopment and gentrification since 2003, the name has been co-opted and now refers to an area...

. Communities in South Los Angeles include:

Baldwin Hills
Baldwin Village
Baldwin Vista
Chesterfield Square
Crenshaw
Historic South Central
Historic South Central Los Angeles
Historic South Central is a district of the city of Los Angeles, California. The district is situated on the southeastern edge of downtown Los Angeles. According to the "Mapping L.A." project, the boundaries of Historic South Central are Washington Boulevard to the north, Vernon Avenue to the...
Hyde Park
Jefferson Park
King Estates
Leimert Park
University Park
Vermont Square
Watts
West Adams

Although the following are incorporated cities or unincorporated communities, they are often considered part of the South Los Angeles area or South Centralby the media, despite not being in the city limits of Los Angeles. Compton, Long Beach, Lynwood is in South East Los Angeles but the popular media labeled as South Central.

Compton
Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city to incorporate. The city is considered part of the South side by residents of Los...

, which borders Willowbrook, southeast of South Los Angeles. Located in Southeast Los Angeles County.
Inglewood
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...

, which borders to the west of South Los Angeles.
Athens
Athens, California
Athens is an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County, California. It lies at an elevation of 171 feet . Athens is located in the South Los Angeles region, near the intersection of the Century and the Harbor freeways...
Westmont
Westmont, California
Westmont is a census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 31,853 at the 2010 census, up from 31,623 at the 2000 census...
West Athens
West Athens, California
West Athens is a census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 8,729 at the 2010 census, down from 9,101 at the 2000 census. It is an unincorporated area within the 2nd Supervisorial District of Los Angeles County. West Athens is served by the Los...
Willowbrook
Willowbrook, California
Willowbrook is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 35,983 at the 2010 census, up from 34,138 at the 2000 census. The community is located near the southeast edge of, and is often considered part of, South Los Angeles...
Gardena
Gardena, California
Gardena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 58,829 at the 2010 census, up from 57,746 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Gardena is located at ....
Florence
Florence, California
Florence is an unincorporated community in California. It is often considered part of South Los Angeles despite being outside of the Los Angeles city limits. It is serviced by area code 323 and has a ZIP code of 90001...
South Gate
South Gate, California
South Gate is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The sixteenth largest city in Los Angeles County, it encompasses . South Gate is located just southeast of downtown Los Angeles It is part of the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County...
Downey
Downey, California
Downey is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city is best known as the birthplace of the Apollo space program, and is the city where folk singer Karen Carpenter lived and died...
Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

Music and entertainment

B.G. Knocc Out
B.G. Knocc Out
Al Hasan Naqiyy , better known by his stage name B.G. Knocc Out, is an American rapper known for collaborating with Eazy-E on the 1993 single "Real Muthaphuckkin G's". He is also the younger brother of rapper Dresta, who also collaborated in the song.- Early life and music career :Arlandis Hinton...

(Compton)
Coolio
Coolio
Artis Leon Ivey Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer.-Late 80s:He recorded two singles in the late 80s, titled "Watcha Gonna Do" and "You're Gonna Miss Me"...

(Compton)
Eric Dolphy
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s...

(Watts)
Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...

(Compton)
Dresta
Dresta
Andre DeSean Wicker , better known by his stage name Dresta, is an American rapper known for collaborating with Eazy-E on the 1993 single "Real Muthaphuckkin G's". He is also the older brother of rapper B.G. Knocc Out, who also collaborated in the song.- Early life :Andre DeSean Wicker was born and...

(Compton)
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...

(Long Beach)
DJ Yella
DJ Yella
DJ Yella is the stage name of Antoine Carraby , a DJ, drummer, music producer, film director and pornographer from Compton, California. He was a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru along with Dr. Dre. He later became a founding member of the pioneering gangsta rap group N.W.A...

(Compton)
DJ Quik
DJ Quik
David Martin Blake , better known by his stage name DJ Quik, is an MC and record producer. According to Quik himself, his stage name reflects his ability to produce records in short time....

(Compton)
Eazy E (Compton)
Shade Sheist
Shade Sheist
Tramayne Thompson , primarily known by his stage name Shade Sheist, is an American songwriter and recording artist from Inglewood, California. He began his career in 2000 by contributing the single "Where I Wanna Be" to a compilation executive produced by himself and local producer Damizza...

(Inglewood and South Central)
Fishbone
Fishbone
Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...
Tyrese Gibson (Watts)
Hampton Hawes
Hampton Hawes
Hampton Hawes was an American bebop and hard-bop jazz pianist, recognized as one of the finest and most influential of the 1950s.-Biography:...

(South Central)
Marques Houston
Marques Houston
Marques Barrett Houston is an American R&B singer, songwriter, rapper, and actor. A member of the R&B singing group Immature/IMx until 2002, he went solo in 2003. He is also the cousin of J-Boog, former member of the R&B/Hip-Hop group B2K....

(Inglewood and Watts)
Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...

(South Central)
Dom Kennedy
Dom Kennedy
Dom Kennedy is a West Coast rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. Since 2008, Kennedy has released 5 Independent record label studio albums, most notably his 2010 "critically acclaimed mixtape" From the Westside with Love. His 6th studio album From the Westside with Love II released...

(Leimert Park)
Johnny "J"
Johnny "J"
Johnny Lee Jackson , commonly known in the music industry as Johnny "J", was a Mexican multi-platinum songwriter, music producer and rapper who was perhaps best remembered for his production on Tupac Shakur's albums All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World, as well as many of Shakur's subsequent...

(South Central)
Ahmad Jones
Ahmad (rapper)
Ahmad Ali Lewis, who was born October 12, 1975 , in Los Angeles, California, is an American emcee. Credited simply as Ahmad, he is best known for the 1994 single "Back in the Day," a nostalgic song that became a signifier for nostalgia in hip-hop culture.Ahmad is also a member of the Christian hip...

(South Central)
MC Ren
MC Ren
Lorenzo Jerald Patterson , better known by his stage name MC Ren, is a rapper who formed part of the group N.W.A. His moniker is derived from his first name .-Early life:...

(Compton)
Keb' Mo'
Keb' Mo'
Keb' Mo is an American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.-Early life:From early on he had an appreciation for the blues and gospel music...

(South Central)
Kurupt
Kurupt
Ricardo Emmanuel Brown , better known by his stage name Kurupt, also known as Kurupt Tha Kingpin, Kurupt Young Gotti or Young Gotstra is an American rapper and former Executive Vice President of Death Row Records...

(South Central)
Bishop Lamont
Bishop Lamont
Philip Martin , better known as Bishop Lamont is an American rapper from Carson, California. He was signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment record label but left in 2010.-Biography:...

(Carson)
L.V. (South Central)
Glasses Malone
Glasses Malone
Charles Phillipivory Penniman , better known by his stage name Glasses Malone, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California.-Early life:Glasses Malone grew up in the Watts and Compton neighborhoods in Los Angeles County...

(Watts and Compton)
MC Eiht
MC Eiht
Aaron Tyler , better known by his stage name MC Eiht, is an American rapper. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's name. He chose Eiht for its links to "hood culture", including 8Ball and .38 caliber firearms...

(Compton)
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...

(Watts)
Murs
Jay Rock
Jay Rock
Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. , better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper. He was named one of the top 13 most street artists by XXL. His voice has been called a cross between Immortal Technique and Rick Ross. He is a part of the rap group Black Hippy which also features Kendrick...

(Watts)
Howard E. Scott
Howard E. Scott
Howard E. Scott is an American funk/rock guitarist and founding member of the successful 1970s funk band War.-Biography:...

(Compton)- Member of War (band)
War (band)
War is an American funk band from California, known for the hit songs "Low Rider", "Spill the Wine", "The Cisco Kid" and "Why Can't We Be Friends?". Formed in 1969, War was a musical crossover band which fused elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae...
Scott Shaw
Scott Shaw
Scott Shaw is an American actor, author, journalist, film director, film producer, musician, professor and martial artist.-Early life:...

(South Central)
Spider Loc
Spider Loc
Curtis Norvell Williams, more commonly known as Spider Loc is an American rapper signed to G-Unit Records.Loc is also the CEO of G-Unit West.-Biography:...

(South Central)
John Singleton (South Central)
Brownside
Brownside
Official Brownside facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/BrownSide/109423895784758?ref=tsBrownside is a Chicano hip-hop group founded in 1994 by the late Eazy-E. The group originally consisted of rappers Toker , Wicked , Lil Danger and Danger , who was shot dead in 1997 from a drive-by...

(South Central)
South Central Cartel
South Central Cartel
South Central Cartel is a Los Angeles-based gangsta rap group. Some of their popular songs include "U Gotta Deal Wit Dis", "Pops Was a Rolla", "Ya Getz Clowned", "Gang Stories", "Servin 'Em Heat", "Knocc on Wood" , and "All Day Everyday" & "Eastside-Westside".-Biography:As one of the original...

(South Central)
The Game
The Game (rapper)
Jayceon Terrell Taylor , better known by his stage name Game, formerly The Game, is an American rapper and actor. As a member of G-Unit, he rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album, The Documentary, which earned him two Grammy Award nominations...

(Compton)
Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...

(Watts)
Ras Kass
Ras Kass
John Austin IV, better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is also a part of hip hop supergroup The HRSMN along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt...

(Watts)
Tyga
Tyga
Michael Stevenson , better known by his stage name Tyga , is an American rapper signed to Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. He is of Vietnamese and Jamaican descent...

(Compton)
Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band is a pioneering American soul and funk band. Formed in the early 1960s, they had the most visibility from 1967 to 1973 when the band had 9 singles reach Billboard's pop and/or rhythm and blues Hot 100 lists, such as "Do Your Thing" , "Till You Get...

(Watts)
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...

(South Central and South Gate)
Montell Jordan
Montell Jordan
Montell Jordan is a former American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. Jordan became the main solo male artist on its Def Soul imprint until leaving the label in 2003. Of his live performances it is often regarded that he is a rock oriented musician, with Jordan even going as far as to...

(South Central)
Nipsey Hussle
Nipsey Hussle
Ermias Asghedome , better known by his stage name Nipsey Hussle. He is a Westcoast rapper from Los Angeles, California.-Music career:...

(South Central)
Hopsin
Hopsin
Marcus Hopson, better known by his stage name Hopsin, is an American rapper, music video director and hip hop producer from Panorama City, Los Angeles, California. Known for his white contact lenses, his music videos gained popularity on YouTube...

(Panorama City)

Gang violence and crime in South Central were the main themes in songs such as N.W.A's "Straight Outta Compton

Straight Outta Compton (song)

"Straight Outta Compton" is the lead single from N.W.A's second album with the same name. It was released in 1988. It also appears on N.W.A's Greatest Hits with an extended mix and The Best of N.W.A. It was voted number 19 on About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs, and is ranked number 6 on VH1's 100...

", "Gangsta Gangsta

Gangsta Gangsta (N.W.A song)

"Gangsta Gangsta" is a single from American rap group N.W.A's 1988 album, Straight Outta Compton. The song later appeared on the N.W.A Greatest Hits album and The Best of N.W.A. - The Strength of Street Knowledge. The song conveys the dangers of living in the streets of Compton, California and...

" and "The Dayz of Wayback", Ice Cube

Ice Cube

's "Dead Homiez" and "How to Survive in South Central", and Compton's Most Wanted

Compton's Most Wanted

Compton's Most Wanted is an American gangsta rap group and one of the pioneers of the West Coast Hip Hop scene still performing today on independent labels. The leader of the group was MC Eiht.-Biography:...

's Hood Took Me Under

Hood Took Me Under

"Hood Took Me Under" is one of the most popular singles by the group Compton's Most Wanted and was released in their album, Music to Driveby. The song was featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in the fictional radio station, Radio Los Santos...

Sports and athletes

DeMar DeRozan
DeMar DeRozan
DeMar Darnell DeRozan is an American professional basketball player, selected ninth overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors of the NBA. DeRozan played college basketball at USC for the Trojans...

(Compton)
Dennis Johnson
Dennis Johnson
Dennis Wayne Johnson nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics and coach of the Los Angeles Clippers...

(Compton)
Tyson Chandler
Tyson Chandler
Tyson Cleotis Chandler is an American professional basketball center who most recently played for the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA. He was also a member of the United States men's national basketball team.-High school:...

(Compton)
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA. He was drafted by the Thunder's former incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics, which relocated from Seattle, Washington to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...

(Long Beach)
Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner , also known as Flo-Jo was an American track and field athlete. She is considered the "fastest woman of all time" based on the fact that she still holds the world record for both the 100 metres and 200 metres, both set in 1988 and never seriously challenged...

(Watts)
Brandon Jennings
Brandon Jennings
Brandon Jennings is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association who plays at point guard....

(Compton)
Andre Miller
Andre Miller
Andre Lloyd Miller is an American professional basketball player, currently with the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association.- College career :...

(Watts)
Eddie Murray
Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray , nicknamed "Steady Eddie", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. He was known as one of the most reliable and productive hitters of his era. Murray is regarded as one of the best switch hitters ever to play the game...

(Watts)
Tayshaun Prince
Tayshaun Prince
Tayshaun Durell Prince is an American basketball player who last played for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association. Prince is a small forward, listed at and . A graduate of Dominguez High School and the University of Kentucky, Prince was drafted in the first round by the...

(Compton)
Ozzie Smith
Ozzie Smith
Osborne Earl "Ozzie" Smith is an American former baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals from 1978 to 1996...

(Watts)
Marcellus Wiley
Marcellus Wiley
Marcellus Vernon Wiley, is a retired American football defensive end who played 10 seasons in the National Football League for four different teams. He was selected with the 22nd pick of the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft out of Columbia University by the Buffalo Bills...

(Compton)
Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...

(Compton)
Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...

(Compton)
Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce
Paul Anthony Pierce , nicknamed The Truth, is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. He earned First Team All-America honors in his junior year at Kansas, and has been a starter every season since being selected by the Celtics with the 10th overall pick in the...

(Inglewood)
Trayvon Robinson
Trayvon Robinson
Trayvon A. Robinson is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball.-Los Angeles Dodgers organization:...

(South Central)

Politicians

Augustus Hawkins (South Central)
Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 29th district, serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party....

(Watts)
Henry Waxman
Henry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1975. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is considered to be one of the most influential liberal members of Congress...

(Watts)

Government and infrastructure

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services

Health services to over 10 million residents in the Los Angeles County are provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Mental health services are provided by the County Department of Mental Health...

operates the South Health Center in Watts

Watts, Los Angeles, California

Watts is a mostly residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California.-History:The area now known as Watts is located on the Rancho La Tajauta Mexican land grant...

, Los Angeles