Down with the Capital C-P-T

"In 1963, the city elected its first black politician, Douglas Dollarhide, who would later become the state's first black mayor. 'I have wonderful memories of growing up here,' says Filer. 'The street that I was raised on was straight out of "Leave It to Beaver," with African-Americans. We played Little League, we were in the Cub Scouts, we all went to the same church.'
"But the Watts riots of 1965 shattered that calm; white business owners fled so fast, as Filer's father, a longtime city councilman, once put it, 'they were leaving their doors open.' In their wake were deserted storefronts and boarded-up homes. The black middle-class population also bolted. Unemployment shot up, along with the crime rate. The Crips were founded in South Central in 1969; the Bloods followed, on Piru Street in Compton, adopting the red color of their local high school, Centennial."

Jessica Bennett in Newsweek visits Compton, California.