Street View of Ladera Heights
Former Ladera Heights Resident and Loyola Marymount Alumni Tsegazeab Gebremaria
Ladera Heights is a hidden neighborhood in West Los Angeles with an untold, but changing history. Ladera Heights developed a strong community after White residents fled, but recently residents have noticed a shift in the neighborhood demographics. This community has been unofficially named the “Black Beverly Hills” because of its high concentration of an upper-middle class African-American families. When combined with its neighboring communities, Baldwin Hills, View Park, and Windsor Hills, these four communities make up the largest concentration of prosperous African-Americans on the West Coast. Of these four neighborhoods, Ladera Heights has the most affluent residents.
Until 1948, African Americans could not buy homes in Ladera Heights, and many other wealthy neighborhoods throughout America, due to racial housing covenants. Racial housing covenants are contracts that were attached to the deeds of many homes throughout the United States that forbade homeowners from selling to any person of color, in order to maintain the “Whiteness” of their communities. Disobeying these covenants meant putting yourself at risk for being sued by other community members. It was not until 1980 when Ladera Heights began to emerge as a cultural hub for upper-middle class African-American families.
The story
a changing ladera heights
Kyle Collins sporting his "Black Beverly Hills" cap.
Example of racial housing covenant provided by: http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-33-spring-2008/feature/does-my-town-have-racist-past
Today, Ladera Heights is 73% African-American, but that may not be the case anymore if it follows the trend of neighboring areas. Many residents claim to notice a larger change in Baldwin Hills, and especially View Park than in their own neighborhood.
It wasn’t until the 1960s African Americans began moving into View Park; Black lawyers, doctors and businessmen began to integrate the neighborhood. As African-Americans moved into the neighborhoods, the White residents fled. By the 1970s, View Park communities had a 3 to 1 ratio of Blacks to Whites, and by the 1980s the ratio increased to 9 to 1. Today, the racial demographic is still predominantly African-American, with 84% of the population, however some residents have expressed their concerns. Residents say that one indicator of the new influx of other races moving in was the sudden urge to have View Park designated as a historical landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. They were successful.
The median household income of Ladera Heights residents is approximately $118,000, while the median household of Los Angeles County is $56,196. Meanwhile, African-American families across the nation have a median household income of $43,300.
While Ladera Heights holds a unique story of being the “Black Beverly Hills,” the lack of available research and data makes it difficult to know about this community, unless you are a part of it or aspire to be. It is inherent that the history be told before the story changes. Elderly residents of Ladera Heights have complained about being frequently approached to sell their homes. Since Ladera Heights is an affluent community, this demographic shift is not necessarily considered “gentrification”, yet with a somewhat gradual cultural change, residents may feel the same sense of attack.
Ladera Heights has a shopping plaza called The Ladera Center with many businesses such as Ralphs, TGI Fridays, CVS, Ross and many more. This center is merely more than a place to shop, because it is a place where community members gather and engage with each other. The strong sense of community is most apparent at the Starbucks, where Black men have gathered to play dominoes and chess for the past two decades. Some are residents of Ladera Heights, and some are just there to enjoy the company. Magic Johnson used to own the Starbucks in the Ladera Center; he strongly encouraged this sense of community, sometimes joining himself by hanging out and picking up trash out front. In 2010, Magic Johnson sold the Starbucks to JLL Property Management. Since then, the dominoes players have found it difficult to maintain their sense of community.
The men have recently been able to return this past fall, after being banned from gathering in front of Starbucks for two months. Some Starbucks customers expressed concerns for their safety, and the manager responded by banning the men from gathering out front. On the contrary, Noelle Lyons, who has lived in Ladera Heights her entire life, says that seeing the men gather in front of Starbucks is a reason of why she loves being in this community. Geo Blaine, a frequent Ladera Center Starbucks customer, describes this gathering of Black men as a safe haven for many; he comes here as “release to keep his stress levels down” while visiting his mother who is battling stage 4 cancer in a local convalescent home. The men won this battle and were able to return to their home away from home after a series of letters and conversations between Starbucks and JLL Property Management.
Ladera Heights residents care deeply about the community they have built and fear that it may soon be lost, yet they do not discourage new neighbors of other races to join. Current residents of Ladera Heights welcome all, however, new residents should be aware of the community that already exists. With knowledge of the present culture of Ladera Heights, incoming residents should adapt and as 13-year resident WC Byrd says, “fold that [culture] into their own culture,” opposed to taking over.