A week before the nightmarish orgy of looting and burning in Los Angeles in April 1992, I talked with the owner of a mid-sized grocery mart in South Central Los Angeles. He had been in business only a few months and was plainly edgy about the area. He had heard all the horror stories about dope dealing, drive-by shootings, and gang violence. But he decided it was worth the risk to open shop there.
I assured him that the overwhelming majority of residents in the area were solid working-class, law-abiding renters and homeowners. He appeared reassured.
The week after the riots, I drove past the spot where his store had stood. It was a heap of rubble and broken glass. I was deeply saddened and wondered if the violence that had claimed his business had permanently crushed his faith in the area. If it did, he’s not alone.
Eight years after the riots, L.A. city officials and major corporations have failed miserably to keep the mountains of promises they made to bring major business to South Central L.A. This despite the fact that crime in the area has plunged to record lows, the Magic Johnson Theatres does a profitable business in the area, the local economy is booming, and public and private investors have eagerly poured billions into redevelopment projects in other parts of L.A.
Shattering a myth
A 1999 Pepperdine University study shattered the fiction that South Central Los Angeles is a downtrodden, depressed and dangerous place to do business. The study revealed that there are more income earners, single-family homes, and a faster growing labor force there than ever. By 2003 the estimate is that total income for South Central workers will soar to nearly $12 billion. No other inner city in America comes close to matching that income surge.
Yet most of the burned-out stores and shops have been replaced with piles of mom-and-pop fast-food stands, doughnut shops, hair and nail parlors, and liquor stores. They have done little to revitalize South Central. The unemployment rate is still the highest in the county, public schools are an abomination, and neighborhood services are still dismally poor.
For a brief moment there was some hope that the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency and a development group backed by Magic Johnson would cut a deal to develop the Santa Barbara Plaza as a flagship business center in South Central. If successful, it would have spurred more major companies to invest in the area. It didn’t happen. The deal went sour and degenerated into a public bout of name-calling, finger pointing and blame passing between Johnson and City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas over who torpedoed the project.
An investment group that includes pro football star Keyshawn Johnson currently has the only other development project, a shopping center complex, on tap for the area. But this is much smaller than the failed Johnson project.
Despite the Johnson/Ridley-Thomas fallout, there is absolutely no reason why a big, ambitious project couldn’t succeed in South Central. Old Pasadena, the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and Shoreline Village in Long Beach all once littered with seedy, decrepit shops and bars were transformed into major economic successes. It happened because private developers, local businesses and redevelopment agencies made a firm commitment to revitalize these areas.
Wrong perceptions
The ugly truth is that South Central continues to stagnate because many banks, firms and even some city officials believe that the area is a terrible wasteland of rot and ruin. They have horrific visions of their businesses going up in smoke or being hopelessly plagued by criminal violence.
To combat their paralyzing fear, more than 200 local businesses led by the multi-health service agency Watts Health Foundation formed an economic development partnership in March. Their mission is to try and convince banks, major firms and city officials that it is safe and profitable to do business in South Central.
Another big sore point is the neglect of minority-owned small businesses in the area. Economists estimate that small businesses fuel about 75 percent of the job and income growth in Los Angeles County. Yet in South Central, banks due to a mix of fear, indifference and outright racial bias have been loathe to loosen their purse strings and provide more loans and technical assistance to small businesses.
Eight years ago, the merchant I talked with had dreamed of making money and helping the residents in South Central. His dream went up in flames. Yet this did not stop city officials and major businesses from boasting that they would rebuild L.A. They recognized that plentiful jobs and thriving businesses can buy social peace. Eight years is more than enough time for them to shake their jitters about the area and deliver on their promise.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a radio commentator and author of “The Crisis in Black and White.”
