The Shift of Culture in Compton and the Transcendent Cultural Effect it Formed in America

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In less than forty years, the city of Compton went from a shielded suburb near the confines of Los Angeles, to a terrorizing image of American culture. The results of this transformation and creation of “gangsta rap” is still well renowned today. Through de jure segregation, Reagan economics, undermining of black prosperity, N.W.A., and “Boyz n the Hood”, the city of Compton told its story and became a global image. This paper will analyze the shift of culture in Compton and the transcendent cultural effect it formed in America.
Thousands of migrants in the 1920’s - 1950’s envisioned Compton, California as the perfect place to settle down and ideal center for industrial workers. That vision did come true for white Americans, although it didn’t last long. The problem facing the newly reckoned neighborhood was the impending number of African Americans moving into the area due to: the desire to leave the south, growing population with higher incomes, and ruling of Shelley vs. Kramer, effectively abolished restricting housing through racial discrimination. With the surging movement of African Americans through social and geographical context came the rise in defense of whites. “Keep the negroes north of 130th street” was the slogan by the whites of Compton. What started out as a real-estate ploy to keep blacks out of the area, escalated to feral actions after de jure segregation. The implications through Compton were serious as African Americans suffered death threats, vandalism, and other scare tactics. However, there were some whites willing to help by selling their homes to African Americans and as time prevailed, so did blacks. A stimulated “panic selling” frenzy to sell whites houses was in full-effect; sell now or lose the...

... middle of paper ...

...ly surprised to found out what Compton used to be and I’m sure others would be to.

Works Cited

Bryan J. McCann, (2014) On Whose Ground? Racialized Violence and the Prerogative of “Self-Defense” in the Trayvon Martin Case. Western Journal of Communication.

Boyz N The Hood: A Colonial Analysis. James Nadell. Journal of Black
Studies, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Mar., 1995), pp. 447-464. Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2784403

Straight into Compton: American Dreams, Urban Nightmares, and the
Metamorphosis of a Black Suburb. Josh Sides. American
Quarterly . Vol. 56, No. 3, Los Angeles and the Future of Urban Cultures (Sep., 2004) , pp. 583-605. Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Stable URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/40068235

"N.W.A – Straight Outta Compton." Rap Genius. N.p., n.d. Web. 21
Apr. 2014.

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