The History of South Central Los Angeles and Its Struggle with Gentrification

"We are not against development, we're against luxury development," exclaims Donna Liseth Quintanilla. 19-year-old Quintanilla is a co-founder of the South Central Dreamers, a collective of youth activists from South Central Los Angeles who use the arts and activism to fight against gentrification displacement and the school-to-prison pipeline. Wiser than their years, the South Central Dreamers are a part of a larger multicultural cadre of organizations and activists that are skillfully fighting gentrification and the imminent transformation of South Central Los Angeles.

The combination of rising property values, the lack of rent control, dozens of new condo developments, Metro's expansion, and the Los Angeles Rams moving to nearby Inglewood, is contributing to South Central Los Angeles' struggle with gentrification. The historically African-American neighborhood has become increasingly Latino over the last four decades. As famous as South Central is from films, music and popular culture over the last half-century, most Angelenos and others around the world do not comprehend the legacy of the area and how important it is in the larger story of Los Angeles.