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‘The Great 9th’ may lose more black clout

The Los Angeles City Council's 9th District made its mark in history 50 years ago, becoming the first part of the city to have a black council member. Much has changed since then.

The Los Angeles City Council’s 9th District made its mark in history 50 years ago, becoming the first part of the city to have a black council member. Much has changed since then.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A big demographic shift in South Los Angeles’ 9th Council District could erode a key source of African American political power.
Read more: ‘Great 9th’ may lose more of its African American political clout

A day on the thoroughfare

Shoppers walk along Vernon Avenue. Although the area’s population is heavily Latino, African Americans still make up more than 40% of the voters in the 9th District.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

School is out

Students and family members make their way home from school on 49th Street near McKinley Avenue. Much has changed in the 9th District since 1963, when Gilbert Lindsay -- a former cotton field worker and janitor -- became the council’s first black member. The district is now nearly 80% Latino.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

A shifting landscape

Latinos are the overwhelming majority of residents in the 9th district, but African Americans still make up more than 40% of the district’s voters.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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