Crenshaw: An Exploration of Minimal Transformation
I have lived in the same house for essentially 33 years. Lived a life shrouded from the negativity of the area to the best of my family’s abilities. Geographically living three blocks from a known and prevalent gang. A neighborhood where wearing a shade of red could have you labeled as someone encroaching on territory.
News in my neighborhood generally comes from local television news organizations, very few receive or purchase a newspaper. My family never really took in news until the last 2 years, occasionally watching the evening news of something interesting was teased. Nowadays, CNN and alike are constantly on and not a background noise. With COVID-19, politics, protest and civil unrest happening everywhere my dad particularly is taking a more active interest in news.
Growing up in a predominantly African American neighborhood there is not much else you know, or so I thought. Intermingled between shuddered businesses and a train track being constructed to get you from point A to point B, homelessness is visually absorbed.
In recent years gentrification has become a more noticeable issue, big businesses that were never a part of my maturation trying to move in. Some say that change is supposed to be a good thing. What if these very changes try to change your culture? Even if it is a culture that you do not really know.
Recently I have come to the realization that I know nothing about where I live.
I never thought of my elementary years as being coddled. However, my junior high school years were vastly different then my high school years. Crenshaw High School was a different plane of existence for me. Previously I had never seen tagging or seen evidence of gang activity, however, at Crenshaw these things were the norm.
Yet and still, until this last year I nevertheless knew nothing about where I live.
A lot of changes came in my community in 2019. A murder was committed around the corner and I lost a family member. What tied them both together was music. Nipsey Hussle was a man that was beginning to revitalize a neighborhood that had been torn a part by drugs and violence for ages. Nipsey’s goal as I can understand were to work toward the prevention of gang violence and to rebuild his community.
My brother, my community, was a self-taught musician he used his talents to help others find their voice. He made a point to always protect those in need. A big proponent in keeping the community building upon itself.
Both, individuals believed in community at its core.
