African American Profile : A Small, Vibrant Community

African Americans have never been a large segment of the San Fernando Valley’s population, and in recent years their numbers have stayed relatively constant even as other ethnic communities in the Valley rose or fell. African Americans make up about 4% of the Valley population, compared to 10.6% of the population countywide.

Though the black population is dispersed throughout the Valley, many African Americans are unified by their membership at several small and vibrant northeast Valley churches. Today, one of those congregations, Parks Chapel AME Church, will break ground for a $1-million church building in Pacoima. The Paradise Church of God in Christ hopes to move into a new facility, also in Pacoima, next month.

The Hillery T. Broadus Elementary School in Pacoima is named after the patriarch of the Broadus clan, a well-known African American family active in church and social affairs in the northeast Valley for decades.

Percentage of Valley Population

The Valley’s African American population changed little over the last decade even as the demographics of other ethnic groups in the Valley changed dramatically.

Statistical Portrait

Although fewer African Americans in the Valley have a bachelor’s degree compared to Los Angeles County overall, Valley blacks are more likely to own their own home, and are less likely to live below the poverty line, according to the 1990 census. A look at how the Valley’s African American community compares with blacks elsewhere and with the county as a whole:

Valley Los Angeles Los Angeles Blacks County Blacks County Overall Population 73,851 990,406 8.9 million % of Population 4% 10.6% NA Population Growth (1980-1990): +1% -2% +18.5% Median Age 28.3 30.0 30.7 Mean Household Income: $9,429 $33,228 $47,252 Individuals Below Poverty Line: 15.2% 21.2% 15.1% % Who Own Homes 31.2% 27.5% 20.74% % Over 25 With Bachelor’s Degree: 5.7% 1.13% 6.90%

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Top Black Communities

The 1980 census found that blacks made up 17% of the population in Arleta and Pacoima, making the two communities the center of the Valley’s black population. But over the next decade, the black population in Arleta-Pacoima shrank to 9%, largely due to rise of the Latino population. The top six Valley black communities:

Arleta-Pacoima: 8,372 (9%) Mission Hills-Panorama City-North Hills: 7,242 (7%) Van Nuys-North Sherman Oaks: 6,652 (5%) North Hollywood: 5,146 (4%) Sunland-Tujunga: 2,530 (5%) Sylmar: 2,446 (4%) *

The African-American community is spread throughout the Valley, creating organizational obstacles for black community leaders:

“The main challenge (is creating) a sense of cohesiveness. It’s not that we don’t want to be cohesive, but being separate little pockets all over is a hindrance, especially from a political standpoint. Geographically we are at a disadvantage.”

- Barbara Perkins, president of the National Council of Negro Women, San Fernando Branch.

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Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and Los Angeles City Planning Department; Researched by MIGUEL BUSTILLO and CHAU LAM.