There's a Whole 'Lotta Rhythm Goin' 'Round (part 2)

There is a lot of things that I have to say about Los Angeles that hasn't been said in a long time. We have to recognize the impact on how minorities (people of African, Latino, and Asian descent) have contributed to the founding of the city. Past and present contributions can be found on Olivera Street, Chinatown, the foregone history of Central Ave. of the 1910's to early 1960's in Los Angeles. These and other "lost" Los Angeles stories need to be shared and told to future generations, especially in this "woke" age.

Another Los Angeles neighborhood of historical significance (which is now making a gentrified renaissance) is West Adams. This neighborhood, covering an approximate 3.25 square mile area, has some of the oldest homes in Los Angeles, including the central offices of the American Automobile Association (AAA), Mount St. Mary's College, and the University of Southern California. This neighborhood started out as a wheat field and in 1902, work began to build up that part of town for occupants. The original white homeowners and landowners in West Adams and their banks placed clauses in their leases and deeds to not sell to "ethnic" people (a common practice of the time), and in time, West Adams was lined with the mansions and stately homes of early architects, corporate bankers, and silent movie stars.

By the 1930's changes came to the area with the population and ownership. The white folks started to move into Beverly Hills, Brentwood, etc. and the Great Depression saw many homeowners willing to sell to anyone, especially the burgeoning black middle class. By the late 1930's, West Adams Heights, or "Sugar Hill" (coined to the area due to the influx of prominent black doctors, performers, artists, etc. in a homage to Harlem in New York) was in full bloom. Its most prominent resident was Hattie McDaniel (Gone with the Wind's matronly maid Mammy to Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara), and she used to throw many parties at her home of 2203 S. Harvard St., hosting both black and white guests. (Side note-let HBO know you want this movie back. It is not meant to be racist in any way. Next they'll want to censor The Adventures of Tom Sawyer).

West Adams also became the site of many legal fights for housing rights and ownership. In 1945, eight white residents sought to evict the 57 black residents and families from the neighborhood. Ms. McDaniel, along with 250 supporters, came to defend their right to live in the Sugar Hill case. With Judge Thurmond Clarke's decision to uphold the 14th amendment disallowing economic discrimination, this case raised the consciousness of civil rights in Los Angeles and the country.

By the 1950's and 1960's, however, things were changing again. Many of the black families started to move out for the exclusivity of Windsor Hills and Baldwin Hills, and the new I-10 freeway was being built. Although this saved the "Row" (fraternity and sorority housing) near USC, many of the mansions and houses owned by blacks were destroyed. By 1968, hardly any original families from the Sugar Hill days lived in West Adams.

Today, West Adams still has many older mansions and two-story homes, but many are in need of repair and saving. My two resources for this story (la.curbed.com and westadamsheritage.org) were invaluable in teaching me more about this neighborhood and a willingness to support conservation efforts for the neighborhood. The mansions just along Adams Blvd. near the 10 freeway and the First A.M.E. Baptist Church, are the best examples of old Sugar Hill. In the future, I hope the preservation efforts, along with renewed fervor for ownership and increased commerce, will put the neighborhood back into prominence.