I read an interesting article in the LA Times, which is the long run reflects the reality of our national makeup. It was a story about Compton California. Images of Compton, for me, come with the baggage of the late 80s and early 90s with NWA and the LA Riots. Compton represents the seat of black power in Los Angeles. For good or for ill, when you want to think about where black people live in Los Angeles, for a vast majority of people when you think black you think Compton.

If you go to San Diego, and for a certain generation, the black power structure is Southeast San Diego. It’s not called that anymore, because of racial issues, but if you wanted to find the black power structure in the city, you know you had to go south of highway 8 to find the conclave of black people.

Many cities have areas that have historic areas where blacks reside. Because of the power base of the church and because of civic distinction, black businesses, politicians and activists, with the right influence and, of course, color, could make a lasting mark in those areas. While the rest of those cities might talk of diversity, the underlying ‘play by the rules’ seemed to be as long as blacks stayed in their area, they would be able to thrive but not branch out.

This never seemed like a good policy to many like myself who saw this political ghetto as stifling to those who wanted to break away from the Southeast San Diego or Compton power structure. For years I would see the same councilman get elected from the Southeast San Diego district. People voted from him more out of habit than for the results he gave to the community. For years there was no development in the area and the little that was done, even today, is well behind development in other parts of the city. Succession of those to the city council post seems to be based less on who can do well for the city but on who did the most favors for the previous councilman.

In the article, which I’m sure caused some surprised concern for some but was admission to the backwards and insular thinking of many, showed that the reality of Compton is vastly different than the image many have. While the website for the city and the elected officials show a striving yet struggling black community, the vast majority of the residents, almost 75% of the city is Latino. While I can’t vouch for the numbers, I know in South San Diego (the new name for Southeast San Diego) the number is probably similar in the shift from a black to Latino community.

Shops that used to be black owned are now Hispanic owned businesses. Gang graffiti has shifted from the Crips and Bloods to Hispanic gangs and the music heard on the streets is less hip hop and more in Spanish. The struggle for years to get big grocery stores to move in the area has finally paid off, with huge numbers of Hispanic shoppers bringing money into the area. As the article mentioned and I have observed in San Diego, while the Hispanic population has changed the neighborhoods, the old black power structure is clinging to its power.

The reasons for the lack of Hispanic representation is similar in many former black areas that are now shifting; the elections are city wide rather than community based, Hispanics coming into the area tend to be newer residents or undocumented who are unaware or unable to navigate voting laws and the black power structure, small as it may be, is unwilling to face the changing makeup of their communities. Like I read in the article about Compton, black politicians, when the changing landscape is bought up, almost go into an Archie Bunker, 70s racial explanation that was used to create the black areas in the first place. There’s always mention of Hispanic areas in other parts of town with Hispanic representation and the need to make sure the black representation is kept alive. Said by anyone else of a different skin color and it would sound like they were saying the blacks have their own area, Hispanics have their areas and none of the two shall change.

As much as the black power brokers want to keep the status quo, time and the numbers are against them. In Compton the numbers are staggering of Latinos under the age of 18 or who are legal but not yet citizens. When that population comes of age, it will be impossible for blacks to stay in power. Because of their stubbornness and years of trying to keep insular instead of branching out, the time will come when their supposed save corner of the city will be gone.