South Los Angeles Must Have Higher Political Visibility

Poor people are invisible, especially African Americans and Latinos who live in South-Central Los Angeles. This is not new; it has existed for decades. I grew up there and saw the injustices of poverty, poor housing, inadequate and unsafe school facilities and police brutality.

But in the Los Angeles mayoral runoff election in May, African Americans and Latinos can finally play a key role in being the swing vote. It is becoming almost impossible to win the mayor’s seat with only the Valley and Westside vote. We’ve heard enough hollow promises while young African American and Latino children continue to join gangs, drop out of school and kill each other. The pattern of unequal distribution of wealth can be seen throughout South-Central, where resources are scarce. A few churches do provide hope and guidance for many families, but city government also needs to provide more opportunities. Poor people pay taxes too.

One of the premier universities of the world is in South L.A. -- the University of Southern California, yet it is surrounded by some of the worst public schools in California. It is a symbolic dream for many South-Central youths who would like to attend such a prestigious institution but feel that they cannot.

A study titled “Equity Beyond Dollars” from New Schools/Better Neighborhoods states that “today’s injustices are largely the result of a patchwork of school financing that until recently systematically benefited newer suburban and edge-city school districts at the expense of predominantly poorer inner-city and inner-suburban districts. The result has been an unfair and unequal distribution of billions of dollars in state bond funds.”

These unfair practices must stop, and whoever the mayor of Los Angeles is can take a lead role in advocating for equitable funding for Los Angeles inner-city schools.

The thousands of voters in South-Central can make a difference in determining who will run Los Angeles. This is their opportunity to make Mayor James K. Hahn and rival mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa recognize that they can no longer be ignored or dismissed as “those poor people who don’t vote.”

Latinos and African Americans also must strive to build coalitions around issues that will benefit both ethnic groups. The School of Policy, Planning and Development at USC found that the African American population in South-Central was 39.8% in 2000 (214,873) and the Latino population had grown to 58% (313,303). Within this population, there are many thousands of registered voters.

These voters must demand more resources to be placed into their neighborhoods, such as police protection. Not police abuse. African American and Latino youth must not be criminalized just because they live in poor neighborhoods with few opportunities. Whoever is elected mayor must create viable opportunities, programs and jobs in South-Central L.A.

These voters also want their children to obtain a quality education. The youth of South-Central deserve more qualified and compassionate teachers. We cannot set low expectations for our students or allow mediocre performance. We want them to be prepared and qualified to attend USC or any other top university in the nation. We must offer these young people hope and make them realize that they cannot throw away their futures.

In the May election, South-Central voters must not squander the opportunity to be taken seriously.