Compton holds many distinctions as the epicenter of African American culture in Los Angeles. But in reality, the majority population is Hispanic!
Roll back in time to the rancho era with a visit to Compton's historic Rancho Dominguez pictured. The Rancho Museum Adobe is open for tours provided by the Friends of Rancho San Pedro (dominguezrancho.org).
Compton's rough edge and its history of racial strife remembered in events such as the Watts Riots and Los Angeles riots is not gone or forgotten, by any means, either. Recent efforts by city officials to quell violence have focused on gang intervention, vocational training, reduction of unemployment and reduction of hourly motel rentals to eliminate human trafficking.
In 2013 Aja Brown (31) made history as the city's youngest mayor. The attractive African American woman holds numerous awards, including a Master's degree in Urban Planning with a concentration in Economic Development from the University of Southern California.
A number of shining stars in mainstream entertainment hail from Compton such as Kendrick Lamar. The multi-Grammy winner brings attention to the city where he was born and grew up, became an A-student at Centennial High School, and proceeded to make a name for himself as a writer, singer and song producer. With a nudge from another, older giant of the rap community who also graduated from Centennial High School -- Dr. Dre -- Lamar has set records in the music industry to rival Michael Jackson!
The multi-Grammy award winning rapper met one special fan, President Obama, in December 2015. He's also met with old school rappers Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella of N.W.A in celebration of the movie release, "Straight Outta Compton", 2016.