My Community: South Central Leimert Park

Lia Hurd
3 min readFeb 5, 2021
View of Leimert Park Art Walk. Photo by Intersections

Leimert Park has been my safe place since I entered this world. Being a predominantly Black neighborhood, Leimert Park and pretty much the whole south-central area has always been viewed as dangerous to outsiders. But to residents, Leimert Park is the place where you can hear the proud sound of beating drums while walking down the street. The place where the smell of incense fills your nostrils as you walk out of the grocery store. The media doesn’t capture the essence of Leimert Park.

Growing up in Leimert Park has shaped who I am. My mom moved to South Central LA from Louisanna and created the house I lived in into a home. With two children, my mom and dad worked extra hard to give us a stable life with no worries. Despite my parent's efforts, I noticed the difference in the care and upkeep shown to other neighborhoods compared to mine.

The community within Leimert Park is not foreign to struggle and getting the short end of the stick. When the LA Riots occurred in 1992, many of the buildings and stores were burned down as a result of anger from Black rioters. For many years these buildings didn’t get fixed or rebuilt until Caucasians began moving into the neighborhood. Gentrification showed me just how forgotten the people in my community actually were.

With Covid-19 being on the surge in California, gentrification has caused the people of my community to be left out yet again. unemployed residents who can’t afford rent will be forced to sell their homes. Also with the many businesses being closed down, a lot of Black business owners are losing tons of money and can’t afford to stay open. Increasing the likelihood for outside investors to buy property and start businesses. According to an article written by The Washington Post, the pandemic will make “ it easier for outside investors to snap up their properties at low rates after the crisis.”

I love my community, but I know there’s still a lot to learn. I want to explore what are the next steps after Covid for my community. How can we plan to support each other better in the future to plan for world issues like Covid? I get my news from Twitter, and with the many Millenials in my community, I believe a lot of them get their news from social media as well. I think social media does an amazing job of telling the story of the Black community because the creators of the news are within the community. I think news outlets need to imitate the voices of the community online. This will not only make the Black community feel heard but will create a better understanding of the community for outsiders looking in.

Map of Leimert Park and some of the spots I go with my friends and family

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