Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 8

This week, I replied to a fellow classmate's blog, found here: http://adventuretimewithellen.blogspot.com/2012/11/blogging-social-difference-in-la-week-6.html

Ellen,

I found your Week 6 blog post about Leimert Park extremely well-written and intriguing. Although the all-black community touches communities with mixed races, the town seems to have its own distinct character and way of life that does not necessarily depend on interactions with surrounding areas. This difference is evident in the architecture and layout of the streets and buildings. As you mention, there are no skyscrapers like in the business sectors of Los Angeles; instead, the trees stand “majestically” and taller than any human creation. Moreover, the streets are very wide and open. Such openness on the road is foreign to me, always having lived in areas of constant traffic, honking, sirens, hustling and bustling. Based on your photograph of the empty intersection, these open boulevards seem to be a prime place for someone with road-claustrophobia. While the aesthetic elements of Leimert Park are a reason to stay put in the community all on their own, I think your observations about their culture, including “impromptu jazz sessions” and “street fairs every weekend,” convey an atmosphere as pleasant as the soft curves of the boulevards and valuable as the trees lining the streets.

By choosing pictures that reflect Leimert Park’s street life, you effectively illustrate the importance of traditions that serve as reinforcement for the strong ties holding the “tight knit community” together. Also, your inclusion of a long-time resident’s opinion about the neighborhood supports your arguments well; it is not necessarily best for the neighborhood to be diverse or “mixed” because the cultural homogeneity in this case, allows for increased “cohesion.” From my travels in Los Angeles, “cultural unity” as you describe has not been a common attribute of the communities I encounter. All of the places I have traveled to have been mixed culturally, and many of them have been “mired in poverty,” a description not relevant for Leimert Park. Thus, this community does not conform to the widespread notion that black communities are far from thriving; studies tend to focus on the prevalence of crime and low incomes in predominately black areas. From your observation, however, it is clear that Leimert Park is suffering from neither unemployment nor violence. These ideas about black communities are discussed in detail in “Race, Class, and Hurricane Katrina: Social Differences in Human Responses to Disaster,” an article written in 2006 by James Elliot and Jeremy Pais. Analyzing how race and class influence responses to disaster, the authors highlight the vulnerability of African-Americans to job loss, suggesting that they are socially disadvantaged. In fact, many of our readings have involved this idea, including the reading you discuss: “Fear of a Black President” by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

The questions you pose also got me thinking. In the past, it is possible that white flight occurred because there was resistance against black culture. Nowadays, I find it hard to believe that a black person would not be appropriately assimilated into a largely white neighborhood due to the floating signifiers. Still, it is not out of the question. I often wonder as well if our country has made any progress. Thank you for reminding me and whoever reads your blog that while there are neighborhoods that live in peace, our country as a whole is still in need of tolerance.