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The history of African Americans in Los Angeles includes participation in the culture, education, and politics of the city of
Los Angeles, California, United States.
The Black population in Los Angeles has declined since 2017, due to gentrification and more Latinos such as Mexicans and Central Americans moving to their neighborhoods.[5] Many African-Americans from Los Angeles are moving to the
Southern United States.[6][7][8] Including partly Black people, Los Angeles proper is 10% Black (estimated 385,000 residents in 2021).[9] Many African Americans have become
homeless in the city. African Americans make up 34% of Los Angeles's
homeless, while only being 8% of the city's population in 2020.[10]
Blacks in Los Angeles have a lower life expectancy and die younger than other racial groups in Los Angeles.[11]
Los Angeles also has a sizable East African and black immigrant population. Los Angeles has the largest
Ethiopian population in the United States after
Washington, D.C.. 45,000 Ethiopians live in the Los Angeles area. 6,000
Eritreans live in Los Angeles.[12]
History
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adding to it. (July 2023)
Pío Pico, California's last governor under Mexican rule, was of mixed Spanish, Native American, and African ancestry.[15] Pico spent his last days in Los Angeles dying in 1894 at the home of his daughter Joaquina Pico Moreno in Los Angeles. He was buried in the old
Calvary Cemetery in downtown Los Angeles. His brothers and their descendants were also early influencers in the same era.
19th century
Many
white Southerners who came to California during the
Gold Rush brought
racist attitudes and ideals with them. In 1850, twelve black people were registered as residents of Los Angeles. Because many blacks were enslaved until the abolition of slavery occurred in 1865, few blacks migrated to Los Angeles before then. Due to the construction of the
Santa Fe Railroad and a settlement increase in 1880, increasing numbers of blacks came to Los Angeles. By 1900, 2,131 African Americans, the second largest black population in California, lived in Los Angeles.[16]
In 1872, the
First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles (First A.M.E. or FAME) was established under the sponsorship of
Biddy Mason, an African American nurse and a California real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist, and her son-in-law Charles Owens. The church now has a membership of more than 19,000 individuals.[citation needed]
20th century
Between the 1890s and 1910, African Americans migrated to Los Angeles from Southern places like
Texas,
Shreveport,
Atlanta, and
New Orleans to escape the racial violence, racism, white supremacy, and bigotry of the
Southern United States.[17] The presence of the
first transcontinental railroad meant that Los Angeles had a relatively high African American population for a city in the Western United States; in 1910 it had 7,599 African Americans.[18] The first branch of the
NAACP in California was established in Los Angeles in 1913. Housing segregation was a common practice in the early 20th century. Many private property deeds explicitly banned owners from selling to anyone but
whites.[19]
The African American population did not significantly increase during the first
Great Migration.[20] From approximately 1920 to 1955,
Central Avenue was the heart of the African American community in Los Angeles, with active rhythm and blues and jazz music scenes.[21][22]
Central Avenue had two all-black segregated fire stations.
Fire Station No. 30 and
Fire Station No. 14 were segregated in 1924. They remained segregated until 1956 when the
Los Angeles Fire Department was integrated. The listing on the National Register notes, "All-black fire stations were simultaneous representations of
racial segregation and sources of community pride."[23] In 1928,
World War I veteran
William J. Powell founded the Bessie Coleman Aero Club. In 1931, Powell organized the first all-black air show in the United States for the Club in Los Angeles, an event that drew 15,000 visitors. Powell also established a school to train mechanics and pilots.[citation needed]
World War II brought the
Second Great Migration, tens of thousands of African American migrants, mostly from
Louisiana,
Mississippi,
Arkansas, and
Texas, who left segregated Southern states in search of better opportunities in California. The African American population significantly increased in the
Second Great Migration of the 1940s as area factories received labor for the effort in
World War II. In 1940 the black population was 63,700.[20]
Areas in Los Angeles that were once predominantly white, such as South Central Los Angeles, Watts, and Compton became predominantly African American after the
white flight.[24]
William Parker became police chief in 1952. He largely refused to hire black police officers. During most of his tenure, those already on the force were prohibited from having white partners.[25]
The 1965
Watts Riots were triggered by the arrest of a 21-year-old black man named Marquette Frye at 116th Street and Avalon Boulevard for driving drunk. A torrent of built-up rage erupted in the streets of Watts and
South Los Angeles. An investigating commission found that the African American citizens had been denied respect and endured substandard housing, education and medical care. The
King-Drew Hospital in
Willowbrook opened in 1972 as a response to the area having inadequate and insufficient hospital facilities.[26]
In 1972,
Wattstax, also known as the Black-Woodstock, took place in the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Over 100,000 black residents of Los Angeles attended this concert for African American pride. Later, in 1973, a documentary was released about the concert.[citation needed]
In 1973,
Tom Bradley was elected as
Mayor of Los Angeles, a role he'd hold for 20 years. L.A.'s first African American mayor, Bradley served over five terms, prior to the establishment of successive term limits, making him the longest-serving mayor of Los Angeles.[27]
In 1991,
Rodney King was beaten by police officers. His videotaped beating was controversial, and heightened racial tensions in Los Angeles.[28] Just 13 days after the videotaped beating of King, a 15-year-old African American girl named
Latasha Harlins was shot and killed by a 51-year-old
Korean American store owner named Soon Ja Du after being falsely accused of stealing in a store. A jury found Du guilty of voluntary manslaughter, an offense that carries a maximum prison sentence of 16-years. However, trial judge,
Joyce Karlin, sentenced Du five years of probation, four hundred hours of community service, and a $500 fine. The lenient response by the courts over the murder was one of the contributing factors to the 1992 Los Angeles riots.[29] When four Los Angeles Police Department officers were acquitted of charges associated with the beating of Rodney King, the decision led to the
1992 Los Angeles riots.[28]
In 2004, singer-songwriter
Ray Charles's music studio on Washington Blvd. was declared a historic landmark.[31]
Many African Americans in Los Angeles live in
poverty in 2019.[32] In 2020, 34% of
homeless people in Los Angeles are African Americans despite being only 8% of the population.[33]
In 2021, African Americans in Los Angeles County were more at risk for
COVID-19.[34][35] In the 2021, African Americans in Los Angeles had the highest
COVID-19 hospitalization rate, as well as one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates.[36]
The Black Gallery (1984–1998), exhibition space for African American photographers
Philip Garcia, a population specialist and the assistant director of institutional research for
California State University, stated that a group of communities in
South Los Angeles became African American by the 1950s and 1960s. These communities were Avalon,
Baldwin Hills,[37] Central,
Exposition Park, Santa Barbara, South Vermont,
Watts, and
West Adams.[citation needed] Since then the Santa Barbara street was renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.[38] 98,685 blacks moved to Los Angeles in the period 1965 through 1970. During the same period 40,776 blacks moved out.[39]
1970s and 1980s
In 1970, there were 763,000 African Americans in Los Angeles.[20] They were the second largest minority group after the then estimated 815,000
Mexican Americans. Los Angeles had the west coast's largest black population. Between 1975 and 1980, 96,833 blacks moved to Los Angeles while 73,316 blacks left Los Angeles. Over 5,000 of the blacks moved to the
Riverside-
San Bernardino-
Ontario area. About 2,000 to 5,000 blacks moved to the
Anaheim-
Santa Ana-
Garden Grove area. James H. Johnson, a
University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) associate professor of geography, stated that due to affordable housing, blacks tend to choose "what is called the balance of the counties" or cities neutral to the existing major cities.[39] In the Inland Empire, blacks tended to move to
Rialto instead of Riverside and San Bernardino.[39]
In the late 1990s, many African Americans moved away from the traditional African Americans neighborhoods, which overall reduced the black population of the City of Los Angeles and
Los Angeles County. Many African Americans moved to eastern Los Angeles suburbs in
Riverside County and
San Bernardino County in the
Inland Empire, such as
Moreno Valley.[40] From 1980 to 1990 the Inland Empire had the United States' fastest-growing black population. Between the
1980 U.S. Census and the
1990 U.S. Census, the black population increased by 119%. As of 1990 the Inland Empire had 169,128 black people.[41]
Many new African American businesses appear in the Inland Empire, and many of these businesses have not been previously established elsewhere. The Inland Empire African American Chamber of Commerce began with six members in 1990 and the membership increased to 90 by 1996. According to Denise Hamilton of the Los Angeles Times, as of 1996 "there has been no large-scale migration from the traditional black business districts such as
Crenshaw, black business people say."[41] During the 1990s, the black population of the Moreno Valley increased by 27,500,[40] and by 1996 13% of Moreno Valley was African American.[41]
In the 1990s many African Americans moved to cities and areas in north Los Angeles County such as
Palmdale and
Lancaster and closer-in cities in Los Angeles County such as
Hawthorne and
Long Beach. In the 1990s, the black population of Long Beach increased by 66,800.[40]
2000s and 2010s
In the 2019 census, 8% of the Los Angeles County population identified as black or African American.[42]
In the 2000s, new black immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas have arrived in Los Angeles. Nigerians, Ethiopians, Ghanaians, Belizeans, Jamaicans, Haitians, and Trinidadians are clustered in African American neighborhoods in Los Angeles.[43] In 2001, within the Los Angeles metropolitan area,
Compton,
Ladera Heights, and
View Park had the highest concentration of blacks. The cities of
Malibu and
Newport Beach have the lowest concentrations of blacks. As of 2001, in the majority of cities within
Los Angeles,
Orange,
Riverside,
San Bernardino, and
Ventura counties had black populations below 10%.[40] From 1990 to 2010 the population of Compton, previously African-American, changed to being about 66% Latino and Hispanic.[44] The Black percentage of the population has declined in Los Angeles in 2017, possibly due to an increase of
Mexican and
Central American immigrants.[45]
Culture
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adding to it. (September 2014)
There is a black
Christian community in Los Angeles, the first
black church to be established in the city was First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) which was organized in the year 1872.[46]
The
Compton Cowboys formed in the late 1990s and are a group of friends from childhood who use horseback riding and
equestrian culture to provide a positive influence on inner-city youth, and to combat negative
stereotypes about African Americans in the city of
Compton.[47]
African Americans in Los Angeles have contributed to
gangsta rap, particularly in the early years between 1988 until 1992.[48] African Americans influenced
West Coast hip hop with African American rappers such as
Ice Cube and
Dr. Dre.[49]
There are black-owned
soul food restaurants in Los Angeles.
There is a
black Muslim community in Los Angeles, and Islam has had a large influence on the African American population in California. African American make up around 15% of mosque attendants in Southern California in 2021.[50]
There is many
graffiti murals dedicated to African Americans in the city such as the Crenshaw Wall located in
Destination Crenshaw, an open-air African American museum.[51]
Gangs
There are many black gangs in Los Angeles. Black gangs emerged in the late 1940s to the early 1970s.[52] The most notable are the
Crips and
Bloods, both of which trace their origins back to the 1960s.[53]
In 2007, 4% of African American adults in Los Angeles County identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual.[54]
Most Black LGBTQIA+ persons live in Black neighborhoods. Of black LGBTQ+ persons, 38% lived in
South Los Angeles, 33% lived in the
South Bay, and less than 1% lived in the
Los Angeles Westside. Mignon R. Moore, the author of "Black and Gay in L.A.: The Relationships Black Lesbians and Gay Men Have to Their Racial and Religious Communities," wrote that black LGBTQ+ people had a tendency to not have openness about their sexuality and to not discuss their sexuality, and also that "they were not a visible group in neighborhoods like
Carson and
Ladera Heights".[54]
Little Ethiopia is home to the third largest
Ethiopian American after
Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, Minnesota.[citation needed] Little Ethiopia is the only area in the city to recognize the culture of the African continent.[55] There are many Ethiopian restaurants in the neighborhood, serving
Ethiopian cuisine.[56]
Discrimination
Blacks in Los Angeles County are often affected by homelessness, poverty and incarceration due to discrimination. Anti-black hate crimes increased in Los Angeles in 2023.[57] African Americans in Los Angeles are also more likely to be killed by police officers; with African Americans representing 24% of law enforcement killings, from 2000 to 2023.[58] Racial violence against black women in Los Angeles remains high.[59]
Gentrification
African American neighborhoods in South Los Angeles have been gentrified. Many Latinos have moved to their historical neighborhoods.[60]
Notable people
This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. (October 2023)
Jhené Aiko (born 1988), singer of African American, Japanese, Dominican, Spanish, Native American and German-Jewish descent.[61]
Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (born 1932), an attorney from Los Angeles, became the first African American woman in the California Legislature and in 1972 became the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Congress from the West Coast. She served in Congress from 1973 until the end of 1978.[62]
Doja Cat (born 1995), South African American musician born and raised in Los Angeles.[63]
Dorothy Dandridge (1922–1965), the first black actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1954.[65]
Mervyn Dymally (1926–2012), teacher and politician, the first African American to serve in the California State Senate. He went on to be elected as Lieutenant Governor in 1974.[66]
Magic Johnson (born 1959), basketball player with the
Los Angeles Lakers and businessmen;[69] in 1981 he signed a 25-year, $25-million contract with the Lakers, which was the highest-paying contract in sports history up to that point.[70]
Florence Griffith Joyner (also known as Flo-Jo; 1959–1998), track and field hurdle athlete; she won three gold medals at the
1988 Olympics in Seoul and was considered the fastest woman of all time.[71]
Carl Lewis (born 1961), track and field athlete; he came to prominence at the
1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where he won four gold medals.[72]
Regina King (born 1971), actress and film director
Charles Mingus (1922–1979), jazz musician; was born in Los Angeles and raised largely in the Watts area; he recorded in a band in Los Angeles in the 1940s.
Tavis Smiley (born 1964), talk show host and author
Georgia Ann Robinson (1879–1961), police officer; she was the first black woman to be hired by the LAPD in 1919. She began as a volunteer jail matron, and was later hired as an official policewoman. Robinson worked mainly on juvenile cases and cases involving black women.[75]
Paul R. Williams (1894–1980), architect; Williams became a certified architect in 1921, and the first certified
African-American architect west of the Mississippi River.[77]
Serena Williams (born 1981), tennis player; she was raised in Los Angeles, and in 2002 she became the Women's Tennis Association's World No. 1 player.
Tyga (1989), rapper, of Black and Vietnamese ancestry.
Karrueche Tran (born 1988), model, of African American and Vietnamese descent and identifies as
Blasian
Moore, Mignon R. "Black and Gay in L.A.: The Relationships Black Lesbians and Gay Men Have to Their Racial and Religious Communities" (Chapter 7). In:
Hunt, Darnell and Ana-Christina Ramon (editors). Black Los Angeles: American Dreams and Racial Realities.
NYU Press, April 19, 2010.
ISBN0814773060, 9780814773062.
Flamming, Douglas. Bound for Freedom: Black Los Angeles in Jim Crow America (The George Gund Foundation imprint in African American studies).
University of California Press, August 1, 2006.
ISBN0520249909, 9780520249905.
Hunt, Darnell and Ana-Christina Ramón (editors). Black Los Angeles: American Dreams and Racial Realities.
NYU Press, April 19, 2010.
ISBN0814773060, 9780814773062.
Pulido, Laura. Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left: Radical Activism in Los Angeles (Volume 19 of American crossroads).
University of California Press, January 1, 2006.
ISBN0520245202, 9780520245204.
Sides, Josh. L.A. City Limits: African American Los Angeles from the Great Depression to the Present.
University of California Press, June 1, 2006.
ISBN0520248309, 9780520248304.
Tolbert, Emory J. The UNIA and Black Los Angeles: ideology and community in the American Garvey movement (Volume 3 of A CAAS monograph series, Volume 3 of Afro-American culture and society). Center for Afro-American Studies,
University of California, Los Angeles, 1980.
ISBN0934934045, 9780934934046.
Widener, Daniel. Black Arts West: Culture and Struggle in Postwar Los Angeles.
Duke University Press, January 1, 2009.