Is this just a gang thing or individual thing?

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by CaliDude1

I learned it from my family members. After returning from WWII my grandfather moved his wife, kids and extended family from Louisiana to Los Angeles. I have heard many "wondeful" stories of what it was like for them when they first got here in the late 1940s.

Independent Lens . CRIPS AND BLOODS: Made in America . Timeline | PBS

This link explains some of the restrictive practices I referred to in the earlier post.

Fair enough. I just had a knee-jerk reaction to the word "allowed". (I think because I was thinking in terms of Blacks living in various parts of So Cal. Long Beach. Santa Ana. Parts of the Valley.) There certainly was housing discrimination. Without a doubt. But there were African Americans outside of South Central. Very informative link, thanks. A lot I remember.

Did your family settle in Watts? If so I have a bunch of questions. (Eternally curious. Sorry.) Anyone have stories of collecting bit of glass and bottle tops for Simon Rodia? Do they remember having Asian neighbors? Were they there for the first riots? If they remember Eldon Fiberglass I'll buy you a virtual beer.

I hope you've recorded their stories because that part of L.A.'s history needs to be recorded by the residents who lived there.

.

[CaliDude1]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

Fair enough. I just had a knee-jerk reaction to the word "allowed". (I think because I was thinking in terms of Blacks living in various parts of So Cal. Long Beach. Santa Ana. Parts of the Valley.) There certainly was housing discrimination. Without a doubt. But there were African Americans outside of South Central. Very informative link, thanks. A lot I remember.

Did your family settle in Watts? If so I have a bunch of questions. (Eternally curious. Sorry.) Anyone have stories of collecting bit of glass and bottle tops for Simon Rodia? Do they remember having Asian neighbors? Were they there for the first riots? If they remember Eldon Fiberglass I'll buy you a virtual beer.

I hope you've recorded their stories because that part of L.A.'s history needs to be recorded by the residents who lived there.

.

They didn't settle in Watts. But they were pretty close. Initially, they were east of the 110 fwy. The first group that arrived settled near what is now Will Rogers Park. From there they branched out. My grandfather and his family ended up in Long Beach. A couple of his siblings ended up in the Crenshaw District. And some stayed in near Central Avenue.

From what I have been told none of our family members were caught up in the Watts riots. The thing about that riot is it was contained to a very small area. Growing up, I was always curious about it just because I could never imagine anything like that happening. That was until I watched my own neighborhood go up in flames in 1992.

No one has ever mentioned anything about Japanese neighbors, but my grandmother does remember when Lynwood and much of Compton were white. An uncle has told me stories of hanging out with Brenton Wood and some of his friends in Compton before wood became popular. I have also heard a few stories about Central Avenue. It really was a major Jazz destination at one point. I used to think that was all hype.

There are only a few surviving members of that initial group that came from Louisiana in the '40s. Interestingly enough the feeling I get from them is they really didn't want to leave the South. Jim Crow was just too much to deal with. The feeling was their chances for success would be better in California. However, many of the older people in my family feel like the family lost something in coming to California. California represented a new level of freedom, but it seemed to bring with it a loss of identity.

Regarding the Towers, I have been to see them several times. I am amazed every time I see Rodia's work. I hate that some people in Los Angeles are so afraid of the city. On my last trip to the Towers there were Asian tourists, European tourists, and African tourists. I was glad to see them taking such an unheralded L.A. gem.

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by CaliDude1

From what I have been told none of our family members were caught up in the Watts riots. The thing about that riot is it was contained to a very small area. Growing up, I was always curious about it just because I could never imagine anything like that happening. That was until I watched my own neighborhood go up in flames in 1992.

Regarding the Towers, I have been to see them several times. I am amazed every time I see Rodia's work. I hate that some people in Los Angeles are so afraid of the city. On my last trip to the Towers there were Asian tourists, European tourists, and African tourists. I was glad to see them taking such an unheralded L.A. gem.

Great post! Thanks for responding.

My father (white) worked in Watts at the time of the first riots. On the day they broke out I can remember waiting for him to come home to Orange County wondering if he was OK.

He'd made a lot of African American friends in the area. (He was the kind of a guy who would head to the nearest Mom and Pops place for lunch and start talking with the locals.) When the first bricks were thrown several young Black guys came and got him and said, "This isn't your making. We want to make sure you get home." They walked him to his car and escorted him to the on ramp of the freeway. All the while telling people to back off. That he was "all right" and to let him pass in peace. The fires had already started. He had many friends who lost their homes.

On the towers: He used to hear stories from the locals about how they'd look out for interesting pieces of glass and things for Simon Rodia. Sometimes he'd give the kids a few cents for what they brought in. My dad used to love to take people to see he towers. I can remember going there many times myself. They are TRULY a treasure.

[the one]

eastside in general LA means east of the river. eastside (ES) in the barrio (mexican hoods) means east LA mostly. WS would be west side. SS means south side. if you ever wonder where in LA you are just look for tagging and check for the SS or ES.
in the hood (black hood) east side does not have to be east of the river or even east LA. it can mean east of the 110 fwy. it really depends on who says it and where they are.

but it is generally accepted that the Eastside refers to the historic area east of the los angeles river.

[marumut]

i never heard of norwalk as being east side. it is however in the southeast portion of los angeles county, so maybe they got the 2 confused.

[R-Tistic]

For most Black folks who live anywhere in L.A., we consider anything East of the 110 = Eastside, as said. Eastside is NOT the same as "East L.A." and mainly refers to Broadway, Central, Avalon and what's North of Compton starting with Watts (Compton could be seen as Eastside, but nobody calls Carson or Long Beach Eastside)..and going up to maybe the 10 Freeway area before you hit Downtown.

Many of us even joke and say "The Eastside starts at Western" where you can see the obvious visual change when coming from the west.