One of the most feared and beguiled cities in America, Compton, California has found it’s soul in the heart of a multi-cultural community eager to show the world that it has more to offer than drugs and gang violence. For a time the murder capital of America, Compton’s plight was documented and dramatized in movies like John Singleton’s 1991 film Boyz n the Hood and by multi-platinum recording artists NWA in their debut album “Straight Outta Compton.”

But the city didn’t always have a rough reputation. Compton Superior Court judge Kelvin Filer remembers a Compton that was “straight out of Leave it to Beaver, to be frank, with African Americans…it was a great environment to grow up in.” The home of President George Bush and his wife Barbara in 1949, Compton was once the model for civic pride. In 1952 it received the National Civic League’s “All American Cities” honor. But, this calm and welcoming community was shattered in 1965 when the Watts Riots ravaged most of South Central Los Angeles. By 1982 a Rand study declared the city a disaster area and by 1991 gang violence doubled rising 200% over the 1984 levels. Circumstances were so bad that neighboring cities removed Compton from maps hoping to avoid the association.

Yet again Compton has found itself by turning within and rebuilding a community. A once vacant parcel of land that welcomed visitors now boasts a multi-million dollar retail center with national tenants such as Target and Home Depot. They now thrive in space that was once considered no-man’s land in the retail world.

The city itself has embarked on a public relations campaign called “Birthing a new Compton” to share the newly restored civic pride that once graced the hub city. In a recent Newsweek article, one resident is quoted as noting “People talk about the good the bad, and the ugly. And with Compton, they just talk about the bad and the ugly. There’s a whole lot of good here.” Another resident notes, “90% of the people here are down to earth, hardworking, good people.”

According to Judge Filer, “as a community you have to have that long range vision. I think the city has that now.” He notes this is a story of hardworking people hungry to restore a sense of pride in their community. Ultimately a community can find itself in youth, and today’s Compton youth have plenty of positive role models and influences to reinforce this vision. Role models like Eric Wright Jr., son of NWA member Easy-E, who like his father was once a gang-banger. As Lil Eazy-E says in the end of the Newsweek article, “kids today, they have a lot more options.”

Good options, a positive message and a clear direction have helped put Compton back on the map for all the right reasons.


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