By Alexis Wince
Picture this: Scrolling through the park and listening to African-inspired music, witnessing the colorful murals on every corner, and the smell of soul food in the air; this is a typical weekend in Leimert Park, now facing challenges. In recent years, the landscape of Leimert Park has undergone drastic changes marked by a surge in property values and new neighborhood developments.
However, these changes have come at a cost as black business owners and residents find themselves increasingly displaced as they can not keep pace with the rising expenses. As this issue escalates, there is a genuine risk of losing the community’s resilience and ingrained Afro-centric roots.
Leimert Park, which many call the “Black Mecca,” is a cultural hub in the heart of South Central Los Angeles and is known for its rich tapestry of African American art, music, and heritage. Steeped in history and alive with creativity, Leimert Park has long been revered as a haven where the soulful melodies of jazz mix with the vibrant hues of street murals and where the echoes of African American history resound through its streets.
(Photo by Paulo Freire Lopez; courtesy Downtown Crenshaw)
The neighborhood has a long history dating back to the 1920s, initially designed as a suburban enclave for white American middle-class families. This community later attracted many African Americans to reside, seeking refuge from discrimination and segregation policies that Southern states had placed.
By the 1950s, the neighborhood would soon serve as a sanctuary for African-American activists such as Malcolm X and Angela Davis, who often frequent the area, engaging with residents to discuss civil rights issues and organizing grassroots movements fostering solidarity in the community.
Growing up in Leimert Park, I would enjoy visiting the Leimert Park Plaza on Sundays to watch the Leimert Park African Marketplace and Drum Circle, engaging with the residents, and listening to beautiful melodies. About a half-mile away, I would walk over to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza to window-shop with my friends and watch a movie at the formerly known AMC Magic Johnson theater, a staple for black residents, as crowds would be in the area every weekend. However, I began noticing changes; the AMC Magic Johnson theater closed down and was immediately replaced by what is now the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza 15 and XD, soon to be the beginning of the many changes Leimert Park would endure.
It is reported that in the last decade, non-resident investors and homebuyers have poured into the community, buying property investments, driving up the prices, and negatively affecting the residents; many of the residents even consider the process of gentrification.
In Leimert Park, the average home has significantly changed, increasing by 132% from roughly $410,000 to $900,000, pricing out the local black community, whose average income per individual is approximately $30,000, and households of $58,000. Moreover, Leimert Park’s Black business owners, as investors, are also targeting black business shops that can potentially close them down.
Local-led efforts, including small businesses, have addressed these difficulties and promoted equity. In 2023, two prominent business owners in Leimert Park, Akil West, owner of Sole Folks, and Prophet Walker, co-founder of Treehouse, were going against the fight to save business in Leimert Park.
What can be done?
Many of Lemiert’s black business owners have taken matters into their own hands. As of February 27th, 2024, the Black Lives Matter Los Angeles BMH- LA organization purchases to preserve the community and foster black leadership.
“So this is our home. Leimert Park, ‘Africatown’ as we call it, is the Black cultural center for Los Angeles”, says Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter in Los Angeles after purchasing the building in Leimert Park.
To further address these challenges facing Leimert Park and preserve community preservation, a multifaceted approach must be implemented.
Community organizations and advocacy efforts should be intensified, and black residents should be mobilized to advocate for more policies containing affordable housing and support local black businesses. Additionally, financial assistance programs are tailored to low-income residents. Lastly, a Community Preservation Act (CPA) was implemented. Together, we can fight to keep Leimert Park.
References
Chapple, R. (2020). Chapter 2. From Central Avenue to Leimert Park. In New York University Press eBooks (pp. 60–80). https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814790922.003.0006
Hester, Y. (2017). Leimert Park, an African village, the possibility of an ethnically branded cultural district. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3tc764cg
Judge, M. (2023, October 6). When it comes to Black homeownership, these people are keeping it in the family. Andscape. https://andscape.com/features/black-homeownership/
Marshall Jr. , William (2016). The Los Angeles Domino Effect: Ethnic Shifts in Los Angeles Neighborhoods, Compton and Leimert Park Cal State Journals.
https://journals.calstate.edu/tthr/article/view/2605/2292
User, S. (2024, February 28). Black Lives Matter Los Angeles purchases building in Leimert Park. Los Angeles Standard Newspaper. https://lastandardnewspaper.com/index.php/news/1113-black-lives-matter-los-angeles-purchases building-in-leimert-park.html