Crenshaw, Los Angeles Explained

Crenshaw
Nickname:The 'Shaw
Settlement Type:Neighborhoods of Los Angeles
Pushpin Map:United States Los Angeles Western#Los Angeles#California
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Los Angeles##Location within Greater Los Angeles##Location within California
Coordinates:34.0181°N -118.3406°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:California
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Los Angeles
Subdivision Type3:City
Subdivision Name3:Los Angeles
Postal Code Type:ZIP Code
Postal Code:90008
Area Code Type:Area Code
Area Code:323
Timezone:Pacific

Crenshaw, or the Crenshaw District, is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California.[1] [2]

In the post–World War II era, a Japanese American community was established in Crenshaw. African Americans started migrating to the district in the mid 1960s, and by the early 1970s were the majority.[3]

The Crenshaw Boulevard commercial corridor has had many different cultural backgrounds throughout the years,[4] but it is still "the heart of African American commerce in Los Angeles".[5]

History

Crenshaw had suffered significant damage from both the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake[6] but was able to rebound in the late 2000s with the help of redevelopment and gentrification.[7]

Geography

According to Google Maps,[8] the Crenshaw neighborhood is centered on Crenshaw Boulevard and Buckingham Road. The neighborhood of Baldwin Hills is to the south, Baldwin Village is to the west, Leimert Park is to the east and Crenshaw Manor to the north.

Cartographer Eric Brightwell considers Baldwin Village to be part of Crenshaw.[9] Google Maps includes in Crenshaw areas labelled by Brightwell as being Baldwin Hill Estates, Baldwin Hill, Baldwin Village, and southern parts of West Adams and Jefferson Park. Google Maps plots Crenshaw as bounded by Crenshaw Boulevard, Stocker Street, and South La Brea Avenue, with the border going along West Jefferson Boulevard to Vineyard Ave, northeast to West 30th Street, east to 11th Avenue, south and west along West Exposition Boulevard.[10]

Demographics

See also: History of the Japanese in Los Angeles. In the post-World War II era, a Japanese-American community was established in Crenshaw. There was an area Japanese school called Dai-Ichi Gakuen. Due to a shared sense of discrimination, many Japanese-Americans had formed close relationships with the African-American community.

At its peak, it was one of the largest Japanese-American settlements in California, with about 8,000 residents around 1970, and Dai-Ichi Gakuen had a peak of 700 students.

Beginning in the 1970s the Japanese American community began decreasing in size and Japanese-American businesses began leaving. Scott Shibuya Brown stated that "some say" the effect was a "belated response" to the 1965 Watts riots and that "several residents say a wave of anti-Japanese-American sentiment began cropping up in the area, prompting further departures." Eighty-two-year-old Jimmy Jike was quoted in the Los Angeles Times in 1993, stating that it was mainly because the residents' children, after attending universities, moved away.

By 1980, there were 4,000 Japanese ethnic residents, half of the previous size. By 1990 there were 2,500 Japanese-Americans, mostly older residents. By 1993, the community was diminishing in size, with older Japanese Americans staying but with younger ones moving away. That year, Dai-Ichi Gakuen had 15 students. In the 90s there began a shift to a new generation of Japanese Americans moving back into the neighborhood.

Government

Police department

Post office

Education

Public schools are operated by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Schools

The district's charter schools in the area include the KIPP network. KIPP Academy of Opportunity[13]

Neighborhood

Crenshaw is a largely residential neighborhood of single-story houses, bungalows and low-rise condominiums and apartments. There are also commercial buildings with an industrial corridor along Jefferson Boulevard. There are also several other commercial districts throughout the neighborhood.

After courts ruled segregation covenants to be unconstitutional, the area opened up to other races. A large Japanese American settlement ensued, which can still be found along Coliseum Street, east and west of Crenshaw Boulevard.[15] African Americans started migrating to the district in the mid 1960s, and by the early 1970s later were the majority.[3]

In the 1970s, Crenshaw, Leimert Park and neighboring areas together had formed one of the largest African-American communities in the western United States.

In 2006, the population of Crenshaw was around 27,600. Currently, there is a huge demographic shift increase in which many middle and lower-class blacks and Latinos are migrating to cities in the Inland Empire as well as cities in the Antelope Valley sections of Southern California as a form of gentrification.[16] The gentrification process continues into 2010's as the Crenshaw mall been approved for a major renovation plan, that will include apartments, shops, and more restaurants.[17]

Transportation

The K line (also referred to as the Crenshaw/LAX Line) runs between the Expo/Crenshaw station and Aviation/96 Street station, transiting generally north-south along Crenshaw Boulevard.[18]

Notable places

Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments

Media

Literature

The novel Southland, by Nina Revoyr, is set in the Crenshaw neighborhood.[22]

Motion picture

Boyz n the Hood [23]

Television

All American - The main character, Spencer James, lives Crenshaw.[24]

Special events

Notable residents

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: District Map & CA-37 Overview. November 30, 2015. August 16, 2019. May 4, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210504112721/https://bass.house.gov/our-district/district-map-ca-37-overview. dead.
  2. Web site: Southwest Community Police Station.
  3. Web site: Growing Up Japanese American in Crenshaw and Leimert Park. Scott . Kurashige. KCET. Communities . January 30, 2014 . January 17, 2016.
  4. Web site: How Crenshaw became black LA's main street. Meares. Hadley. 2019-05-17. Curbed LA. 2019-05-18.
  5. News: Robinson-Jacobs . Karen . Noticing a Latin Flavor in Crenshaw . Los Angeles Times. May 2, 2001. January 21, 2016.
  6. News: Feldman . Paul . 1994-01-22 . Quake Deals Riot Areas Another Disastrous Blow : Aftermath: Many homes and businesses are declared unsafe in neighborhoods still reeling from 1992 unrest. . 2023-08-15 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  7. News: Destination Crenshaw art project aims to reclaim the neighborhood for black L.A.. Los Angeles Times. Makeda. Easter. January 30, 2019. 30 January 2019.
  8. Web site: Google Maps. Google Maps. 25 January 2018.
  9. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=15x_g-cPFp0OczIjhyVOEOLqtQMw&ll=34.02732515752662%2C-118.34274939131284&z=14 Brightwell map
  10. Web site: Google Maps search for "Crenshaw, Los Angeles" . 2020-06-09.
  11. Web site: Southwest Community Police Station . 2022-04-30 . LAPD Online . en-us.
  12. Web site: Crenshaw Post Office . USPS.com . 9 July 2024.
  13. Web site: Welcome to KIPP Academy of Opportunity. kippkao.org. November 10, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20081202135320/http://www.kippkao.org/. December 2, 2008. dead.
  14. Web site: Celerity Schools. celerityschools.org. November 10, 2016.
  15. News: Scott Shibuya . Brown . Crenshaw: Littler Tokyo : Although their children have grown and gone, older Japanese-Americans still evince pride, loyalty in their changing community. . . October 3, 1993 . January 21, 2016.
  16. Web site: Calm before the storm of gentrification. . Nijla . Mu'min . September 20, 2015. June 5, 2017.
  17. Barragan, Bianca (June 18, 2018) "Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza redevelopment wins City Council approval" Curbed LA
  18. News: Metro breaks ground on new $2 billion L.A. Crenshaw/LAX Line. Brian . Sumers . . January 21, 2014. January 31, 2016.
  19. Web site: Urban renewal project in L.A. begets blight instead. Los Angeles Times. April 28, 2008. November 10, 2016.
  20. Web site: Game Over For Holiday Bowl?. https://web.archive.org/web/20081121112526/http://www.aamovement.net/community/holidaybowl.html. dead. November 21, 2008. November 21, 2008. January 25, 2018.
  21. Web site: Monument Search Results Page. Cityplanning.lacity.org. January 25, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20071013162706/http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/HCM/dsp_hcm_result_City.cfm. October 13, 2007. dead.
  22. Web site: Fiction Book Review: SOUTHLAND by Nina Revoyr, Author, Dennis Cooper, Editor . Akashic $15.95 (348p) ISBN 978-1-888451-41-2. Publishersweekly.com. January 25, 2018.
  23. Web site: Boyz N The Hood . siskelfilmcenter.org . Gene Siskel Film Center . 8 July 2024 . In his riveting directorial debut, Singleton follows Jason “Tre” Styles III (Cuba Gooding Jr.) as he relocates to South Central LA’s Crenshaw neighborhood to live with his father..
  24. Web site: The CW Picks Up 'Charmed' & 'Roswell' Reboots, 'TVD'/'Originals Offshoot, 'In The Dark' & Greg Berlanti Pilot To Series. Denise. Petski. May 11, 2018. Deadline Hollywood. May 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180516060159/http://deadline.com/2018/05/the-cw-picks-up-charmed-roswell-reboots-tvd-originals-offshoot-ilegacies-n-the-dark-greg-berlanti-pilot-to-series-1202388840/. May 16, 2018. live. The wins, losses and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds — Crenshaw and Beverly Hills — begin to collide. The smart and charming son of a single mother, Spencer is a talented athlete and A+ student who must learn to deal with a host of emotions when he transfers from Crenshaw High to Beverly Hills High..
  25. Web site: Dr Martin Luther King Jr. celebrated at Kingdom Day Parade . abc7.com. January 17, 2017. June 7, 2017.
  26. News: Flores. Jessica. 2019-10-22. As South LA changes, Destination Crenshaw is 'absolutely necessary'. 2020-09-05. Curbed LA. en.
  27. Axelrod, Jeremiah B. C. (Occidental College). "The Shifting Grounds of Race: Black and Japanese Americans in the Making of Multiethnic Los Angeles." The Journal of American History, 12/2008. p. 909-910. Cited: p. 910.
  28. Web site: Remembering the Business of Nipsey Hussle: From Entertainer to Entrepreneur. Zorka. Zoe. 2019-04-02. The Source. en-US. 2019-04-15.
  29. News: NFL star DeSean Jackson talks bullying in Oakland . Vic . Tafur . May 21, 2011 . SFGate. July 20, 2016.
  30. Web site: Darryl Strawberry Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . 2012-05-23.
  31. Crenshaw football star De'Anthony Thomas has Hollywood flair . Sports Illustrated . December 21, 2010 . Ben . Glicksman .

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