Description
Book SynopsisLos Angeles is well-known as a temperate paradise with expansive beaches and mountain vistas, a booming luxury housing market, and the home of glamorous Hollywood. This title presents an analysis of the historical and contemporary contours of black life in Los Angeles.
Trade ReviewOverall, this is an excellent book. * Journal of African American History *
Black Los Angeles provides a telling tale about the need to examine the racial processes that impact Black urban communities. -- Clovis L. White * Du Bois Review *
[T]his is an excellent book....Inside are studies of one specific city, but with applicability to African American urban communities nationwide. -- John H. Barnhill * Journal of African American History *
A true masterwork of urban studies. Taken together, these wide-ranging, diverse, original essays significantly expand our understanding of the African-American experience in Los Angeles. With breathtaking scope and vision, Black Los Angeles is a brilliant example of cutting-edge scholarship and a powerful corrective to the enduring image of a city of drive-by shootings and low-rise projects. -- Robin D. G. Kelley,author of Freedom Dreams<
To offset the notion that twenty-first century America is a "colorblind society,Black Los Angelesconstrues "black" as having more to do with power and politics than with natural features . . . The pyschological and sociological perspectives of many contributors present aspects of contemporary black life that historians often overlook and that future works of history should include. -- Lawrence B. de Graaf * Journal of American History *
Its a deeper, better work of scholarship that wades into the history of this city, some of that history hundreds of years old, as a way of making sense of not just the present but the future as well. This wide sweep of Los Angeles history, and the role that black Americans played in its evolution at every level, is what sets this collection of supple, trenchant essays apart. -- Michael E. Ross * Popmatters.com *
The book brings together the research interests of what Hunt describes as an & all‒star team of contributors, most but not all of them academics with strong California connections. Comprising 17 short to medium‒length essays, it pivots from data‒rich analyses of how the black community’s 20th century demographic center gradually has shifted from Central Avenue to Leimert Park, to interview‒driven, anecdotal accounts of the rise and decline of Venices Oakwood neighborhood and a revealing chronicle of the black‒owned SOLAR (Sounds of Los Angeles Records), a late ‘70s‒early ‘80s hit‒making machine for groups including the Whispers, Shalamar and Klymaxx. -- Reed Johnson * Los Angeles Times *
These beautifully-written essays cover the grit of everyday life (family, gangs, gays), cultural magic (art, music, media), and political action (labor, education, and environment). The diversity of perspectives and eight-year commitment by scholars and community collaborators make this a one-of-a-kind collection. The result is a realistic and uplifting portrayal. Anyone who wants to understand Los Angeles and Black America needs to read this booknow. -- Michael Dear,author of The Postmodern Urban Condition
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Darnell Hunt 1 Race, Space, and the Evolution of Black Los Angeles Paul Robinson 2 From Central Avenue to Leimert ParkReginald Chapple 3 The Decline of a Black Community by the SeaAndrew Deener 4 "Blowing Up" at Project BlowedJooyoung Lee 5 Out of the Void 6 Imprisoning the FamilyM. Belinda Tucker, Neva Pemberton, Mary Weaver, Gwendelyn Rivera, and Carrie Petrucci 7 Black and Gay in L.A.Mignon Moore 8 Looking for the 'Hood and Finding CommunityDionne Bennett 9 Playing "Ghetto"Nancy Wang Yuen 10 Before and After Watts 11 SOLARScot Brown 12 Killing "Killer King"Darnell Hunt and Ana-Christina Ramon 13 Bass to BassMelina Abdullah and Regina Freer 14 Concerned Citizens: Environmental (In)Justice in Black Los Angeles Sonya Winton 15 A Common Project for a Just SocietyEdna Bonacich, Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, Lanita Morris, Steven Pitts, and Joshua Bloom 16 Reclaiming UCLAAna-Christina Ramon and Darnell HuntBibliography Contributors Index
