Compton, California,
Compton is a city in southern Los
Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los
Angeles. The City of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county
and in 1889 was the eighth city to incorporate. It is often considered
part of the south side by residents of Los Angeles. As of the 2000
census, the city had a total population of 93,493. It is known as the
"Hub City" because of its location in nearly the exact geographical
center of Los Angeles County. An inner suburb of Los Angeles, Compton
has seen an increase of middle-class residents in the last few years,
due to its affordable housing and the reduction of crime. Compton is
still seen as a primarily African-American city, although in the 2000's
Latinos became the majority as a result of immigration and shifts in
ethnic populations. It is referenced in countless hip hop songs, namely
by Compton MC Dr. Dre.
Neighborhoods in Compton include: Sunny Cove, Leland, Downtown Compton, and the Richland Farms.
Early history,
In
1784, the Spanish Crown deeded a tract of over 75,000 acres (304 km²)
to Juan Jose Dominguez in this area. The tract was named Rancho San
Pedro. Dominguez's name was later applied to the Dominguez Hills
community south of Compton. The tree that marked the original northern
boundary of the rancho still stands at the corner of Poppy and Short
streets. The rancho was sub-divided and parcels were sold within the
Californios of Alta California until the lands were ceded after the
Mexican-American war in 1848. American immigrants acquired most of the
rancho lands after 1848.
In 1867,
Griffith Dickenson Compton led a group of thirty pioneers to the area.
These families had traveled by wagon train south from Stockton,
California in search of ways to earn a living other than in the rapid
exhaustion of gold fields. Originally named Gibsonville, after one of
the tract owners, it was later called Comptonville. However, to avoid
confusion with the Comptonville located in Yuba County, the name was
shortened to Compton. Compton’s early settlers faced terrible hardships
as they tilled the land in inclement weather to scratch out a paltry
existence. The weather was cold and wet, and fuel was scarce. Gathering
firewood required a three day-trip to the mountains near Pasadena.
Confronted with such powerful forces of nature, many in the Compton
party considered trying to find a better location to settle down but
decided to stay. Also, in those early times, there were only two general
stores in the area: one in the pueblo of Los Angeles, the other in
Wilmington. Each were several miles away and required a long trip either
on foot or by horseback.
By 1887,
the settlers sensed the necessity to improve local government. They
held a series of town meetings to discuss the possibility of
incorporation. In January 1888, they forwarded a petition supporting the
incorporation of Compton to the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors, who in turn forwarded the petition to the State
Legislature. The area to be incorporated included all the land one mile
east and west of Wilmington Avenue (now Willowbrook Avenue), and from
Greenleaf on the south to a quarter mile north of Rosecrans. The City of
Compton was officially incorporated on May 11, 1888. The new city,
total population of 500 people, held its first City Council meeting on
May 14, 1888.
The 20th Century
The
1920' saw the opening of the Compton Airport, Compton Junior College
was founded and city officials moved to a new City Hall on Alameda
Street. On March 10, 1933, a devastating earthquake took lives, toppled
schools and caused major damage to the main business district. Compton
grew quickly in the 1950's. While it would soon be home to a large
number of African Americans, in 1930 there was only one black resident.
In the late 1940's, middle class African-Americans began moving into the
area, mostly on the west side. One reason for this was Compton's
proximity to Watts, where a significant number of blacks lived at the
time. However, the eastern side of the city remained predominantly white
into the 1970s. Despite being located in the middle of a major
metropolitan area, there remains at least one small pocket of
agriculture from its early years.
Crime
Further information: Crime in Los Angeles
In
2008, the CQ Press using data from F.B.I. "Crime in the United States
2008" Compton was the 17th most dangerous city in the country. However
in the same year, the FBI ranked Compton to be the fifteenth most
dangerous city. The city used to be notorious for gang violence,
primarily caused by the Bloods, the Crips, and SureƱos gangs that are
allied with the Mexican drug cartels.
Compton's
violent reputation was popularized in the late 1980's by the rise to
prominence of local gangsta rap groups Compton's Most Wanted and
especially N.W.A., who released the famous albums Straight Outta Compton
and Eazy-Duz-It in 1988. Although crime rates had been falling for
years after the crack epidemic of the 1980's and early 1990's, Compton
had witnessed spikes in the rate of violent crime.
Compton
had 75 murders in 2005, which is a per capita rate significantly higher
than the national average. Recently, in an effort to combat gun
violence, the citizens of Compton were given the option to hand over
their guns to the police and receive a $100 check for various goods,
called the Gifts for Guns Program. During 2006, Compton deployed twice
as many sheriff deputies and the murder rate decreased from 22 in four
months to five.
Compton's property
crime levels tend to be about the same as California's average level.
The same data shows violent crime levels in Compton tend to be much
higher than California's average level.
Government and infrastructure
During the 1950s and 1960s, after
the United States Federal Government declared all racially exclusive
housing covenants (title deeds) unconstitutional, Compton's fledgling
black population was still largely ignored or neglected by the city's
elected officials. At one time, the City Council even discussed
dismantling the Compton Police Department in favor of the Los Angeles
County Sheriff's Department in an attempt to exclude blacks from law
enforcement jobs. This slowly began to change when in 1958, the first
African-American ran for a City Council seat. However, it would be
another three years before an African-American would actually be elected
to the City Council in 1961.
Douglas
Dollarhide made history in Compton in 1969 when he became California's
first African-American mayor of a metropolitan city. Two
African-Americans and one Mexican-American were also elected to the
local school board. Four years later, in 1973, Doris A. Davis defeated
Dollarhide's bid for re-election to become the first African-American
female mayor of a metropolitan city in the United States. By the early
1970s, the city had one of the largest concentrations of
African-Americans in the country with over ninety percent.
For
many years, Compton was a much sought after neighborhood for the black
middle class of Los Angeles. Now, only a few areas of Compton are still
middle class communities. This past affluence is reflected in the area's
appearance — Compton's streets are lined with relatively spacious and
attractive single family homes. However, several factors have
contributed to Compton's decline. One of the most significant factors
was a steady erosion of its tax base. First by whites who fled to the
newly incorporated cities of Artesia, Bellflower, Paramount and Norwalk
in the late 1950s. These nearby communities remained largely white
despite integration. This move was even further precipitated after the
Watts Riots in 1965 and in 1992.
Soon,
middle class blacks also found other areas more attractive to them.
Some were unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County such as Ladera
Heights, View Park and Windsor Hills; and others were cities such as
Inglewood and, particularly, Carson. The latter was significant because
it had successfully thwarted attempts at annexation by neighboring
Compton. The city of Carson opted instead for incorporation in 1968,
which is notable because its black population was actually more affluent
than its white population. As a newer city, it also offered more
favorable tax rates and lower crime.
After
Lionel Cade, an accountant, assumed the mayor's office in 1977, one of
the first orders of business was to conduct an audit of the city's
finances. It was discovered that the city was $2 million in debt. The
administration was able to eliminate the huge deficit in one year by
making cuts in every department. It also aggressively sought federal
funding to help pay for essential services, which was at least partially
effective. However, with the passage of the property tax cutting
initiative Proposition 13 by California voters, Compton was one of the
cities hardest hit, since it had already eliminated most of the fat from
its budget.
Crime, though present
in lesser degrees beforehand, worsened significantly with the
introduction of crack cocaine in the latter part of the 20th century.
The neighborhood lost richer residents, with the worsening safety
problems, and, after the 1992 riots in the Los Angeles metropolitan
area, many African Americans left the city. Meanwhile, many Latino (esp.
Mexicans) and other immigrant families moved into Compton, including
Samoans, Tongans, Koreans, Filipinos, Belizeans and East Africans.
County, state and federal representation
County, state and federal representation
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department operates the Compton Station in Compton.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the South Health Center in Watts, Los Angeles, serving Compton.
In
the state legislature Compton is located in the 25th Senate District,
represented by Democrat Edward Vincent, and in the 52nd Assembly
District, represented by Democrat Isadore Hall, III. Federally, Compton
is located in California's 37th congressional district, which has a Cook
PVI of D +27 and is represented by Democrat Laura Richardson.
The
United States Postal Service operates the Compton Post Office at 701
South Santa Fe Avenue the Hub City Post Office at 101 South Willowbrook
Avenue, and the Fashion Square Post Office at 2100 North Long Beach
Boulevard.
City government controversies
Civic corruption has also been a
widespread problem in Compton.In the early 1990s, United States Attorney
Joey Chin conducted a series of investigations, centered on a phony
waste-to-energy scheme, that ultimately ensnared a number of prominent
elected officials.
In 2000, the
Compton Police Department was disbanded amidst controversy and charges
of corruption. The police department claims it was disbanded after
investigations of gang activity led to then-Compton Mayor Omar Bradley.
Once this became public, the mayor charged it was the police who were
themselves corrupt, and he disbanded the police department. Omar Bradley
has since faced serious corruption charges.Regardless of the situation,
an alternative form of law enforcement was sought. Compton's policing
needs are currently served by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department.
Eric J. Perrodin, the
city's current mayor, was investigated in 2007 by the California State
Bar for threatening to violate a local newspaper's first amendment
rights after the paper printed an investigative report relative to a
contract granted to one of Perrodin's associates. Following the report,
Perrodin threatened to yank the city's advertising contract with the
paper
Geography
Compton is located at 33°53′48″N
118°13′30″W (33.896715, -118.225078).According to the United States
Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.4 km² (10.2 mi²). 26.2
km² (10.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.69%) is
water.
It is bordered by the
unincorporated Willowbrook on the north and northwest, the
unincorporated West Compton on the west, the city of Carson on the
southwest, the unincorporated Rancho Dominguez on the south, the city of
Long Beach on the southeast, the city of Paramount and the
unincorporated East Compton on the east, and by the city of Lynwood on
the northeast.
Demographics
As of the census[20] of 2000,
there were 93,493 people, 22,327 households, and 18,620 families
residing in the city. The population density was 3,563.5/km²
(9,225.6/mi²). There were 23,795 housing units at an average density of
906.9/km² (2,348.0/mi²). As of 2000, the racial makeup of the city was
40.0% Black or African American, 16.70% White, 1.0% Pacific Islander,
56.8% of the population are Hispanic or Latino and 1.3% listed as Other.
There
were 22,327 households out of which 50.7% had children under the age of
18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 27.7%
had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.6% were
non-families. 13.2% of all households were made up of individuals and
5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The
average household size was 4.16 and the average family size was 4.45.
In
the city the population was spread out with 38.5% under the age of 18,
11.5% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 14.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.9%
who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For
every 100 females there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18
and over, there were 91.2 males.
The
median income for a household in the city was $33,021, and the median
income for a family was $40,021. Males had a median income of $22,698
versus $24,692 for females. The per capita income for the city was
$10,389. About 31.5% of families and 83.0% of the population were below
the poverty line, including 35.6% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of
those age 65 or over.
Culture,
List of people from Compton, California,
Currently,
Latinos are the largest ethnic group in the city, although Compton is
still often thought of as a primarily black community. Another possible
reason for this is that, despite the shift in population, African
Americans continue to dominate local politics, holding most elected
positions in the city.
Compton has
been referenced on numerous occasions in gangsta rap and g-funk songs,
especially in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and so has attained an
association not only with gang violence and crime, but with hip hop
music as well. The city is known as the home of many famous rappers
including Eazy-E, Dresta, Dr. Dre, and Game.
Some
episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air took place in Compton because
Will's friend Jazz lived there. Many well-known NBA players are from
Compton, California. DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors attended
Compton High School, Detroit Pistons Small Forward, Tayshaun Prince and
Charlotte forward/center Tyson Chandler attended Dominguez High School
in Compton. Brandon Jennings, of the Milwaukee Bucks, attended Dominguez
for two years also before transferring to Oak Hill Academy before his
Junior season.
Compton is also
known for having a large Pacific Islander community, as well as a number
Southeast Asians like Filipinos and Vietnamese. West Compton and
unincorporated Willowbrook have more middle class African Americans than
the central city (west of Alameda St.) and unincorporated East Compton
where a larger percentage of Hispanics and working-class Blacks live.
Lower-income subsections on Compton Blvd. have many businesses owned by
Central Americans and other Latinos.
Economy
Compton was recently designated
as an “Entrepreneurial Hot Spot” by Cognetics, Inc., an independent
economic research firm. Compton made the national list for best places
to start and grow a business, and ranked #2 in Los Angeles County out of
a field of 88 cities. The city's Planning and Economic Development
department provides a business assistance program consisting of a
comprehensive mix of resources to small business owners and
entrepreneurs. Ralphs, a subsidiary of Kroger, is headquartered at 1100
West Artesia Boulevard in Compton.
Compton
is surrounded by multiple freeways which provide access to destinations
throughout the region. The Long Beach and Los Angeles Ports are less
than 20 minutes from downtown Compton, providing access to international
destinations for customers and suppliers. The Alameda Corridor, a
passageway for 25% of all U.S. waterborne international trade, runs
directly through Compton from north to south.
Transportation
Four freeways are near the city's
boundaries and provide access to destinations throughout the region.
These include Interstate Highways 105, 110, 710, and State Route 91.
The
Metro Blue Line light rail runs north-south through the city; Compton
Station is in the heart of the city, adjacent to the Renaissance
Shopping Center. The Blue Line connects Compton to downtown Los Angeles
and downtown Long Beach.
There is also a Compton Renaissance Transit System that serves the local community.
Compton/Woodley
Airport is a small general aviation airport located in the city. The
airport lies within busy airspace, as it is situated within a few miles
of both Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach Airport.
Greyhound Lines operates the Compton Station.
Collectively, these multi–faceted transportation links lend justification to the city's familiar name of "the Hub City."
Education
The city is served by Compton
Unified School District. The district is a participant of the FOCUS
program conducted by the University of California, Irvine. The goals of
the program are to improve mathematics and science achievement by
uniting the efforts of mathematics, science, education and research
library faculty and staff with educators of the school district.
There
are currently three high schools that are part of CUSD, which are
Centennial High School, Dominguez High School, and Compton High School.
The city is also served by El Camino College Compton Center, Reed Christian College and Yuin University.
City sites
The Heritage House serves as an
important landmark of Compton's rich history. Located at the corner of
Myrrh and Willowbrook near the Civic Center Plaza, the Heritage House is
a rustic-looking home that will eventually house a museum detailing
early life in Compton. For now it demarks the stark difference between
the simple life of the 1800s and the fast-paced urban environment of the
21st century.
The Major League
Baseball Academy is a youth baseball academy providing free baseball and
softball instruction to Southern California youth.
Tomorrow’s
Aeronautical Museum is a unique compilation of a living interactive
museum, after-school programs, gang intervention programs and flight
school.
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