‘Light-Speed’ Changes Seen for Area’s Blacks

In a crowded basement in a neighborhood that symbolizes the changing face of Los Angeles, about 120 people came together Saturday morning to hear a presentation on the present and future of the region’s black population.

Held at the Second Baptist Church, a block away from Central Avenue near the Santa Monica Freeway, the event centered on the presentation of a city-commissioned report titled “African Americans in Los Angeles: Prospects for the 21st Century.”

One of the report’s authors, UCLA professor J. Eugene Grigsby III, spoke of the need for all citizens to familiarize themselves with “the light-speed changes” affecting local African Americans in areas such as demographics, technology and employment.

African Americans make up about 15% of Los Angeles County’s population, and though they still live largely in a corridor stretching from South Los Angeles to Long Beach, Grigsby provided data highlighting the widely recognized movement of blacks to outlying cities such as Palmdale and Lancaster. Most such areas, which before the 1990s were virtually all white, now have significant numbers of blacks, as well as other ethnic groups.

Grigsby noted that many longtime black neighborhoods, such as the one surrounding Second Baptist, now bustle with first-generation Latino immigrants who have largely replaced working-class African American families, and that new neighborhoods with large pockets of middle-income blacks are thriving in places such as Culver City and Inglewood.

Grigsby reminded the audience that many traditional black neighborhoods were badly damaged by the loss of industrial and light-technology jobs. To counter the loss, he recommended that the black community foster business ties with African and Caribbean nations.

Grigsby told the audience the study could be seen as a wake-up call for the city’s political power structure.

“Politics is going to have to be taken on differently” in the 21st century, he said. “For the African American community to have its voice heard there will have to be a forging of coalitions across other ethnic groups, an inclusive agenda of common interest.”

Grigsby’s opinions were backed by a panel of speakers, including civil rights attorney Constance Rice and City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who commissioned the study last year.