Should Leimart Park be renamed Africa Town or Wakanda? (low income, city hall)

[jm1982]

Apparently there are some that want to rename Leimart Park Africa Town or Wakanda .

I would think most natives or people that have lived here a long time would already recognize that the area is significant for African America arts and culture .

Most tourists probably don’t know but if it got renamed would tourists start going there anyways ?

Does the average person living there even want a bunch of tourists in their neighborhood?

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"This is Africa Town," Hall said.
Or Little Africa. Or the Pan African Arts District. Or, in a nod to the hit Marvel movie "Black Panther," Wakanda.
It all depends on who you talk to. Various groups have different visions, but each agrees that unlike with Koreatown or Little Tokyo, there's nothing in Leimert Park's name that tells residents or tourists that the triangular commercial district along Crenshaw Boulevard in South L.A. is the region's epicenter of African American arts and culture.

But neighborhood identity has been more fraught in L.A.'s African American communities, which have long felt disenfranchised by City Hall and ignored by developers and businesses. In 2003, the City Council voted to ban the name "South Central L.A." from city maps, saying it had become too associated with crime and blight.

There's Koreatown. There's Little Tokyo. So why can't Leimert Park be Africa Town? Or Wakanda?

[LuvSouthOC]

Wakanda is fake and ridiculous. However, renaming a place to honor its residents is not crazy.

[2Easy]

I like Africa Town but I like wakanda too. Hopefully it gets some official designation.

[Exitus Acta Probat]

Originally Posted by luvsouthoc

wakanda is fake and ridiculous. However, renaming a place to honor its residents is not crazy.

Indeed.

[Taiko]

The Wakanda location marker did get the biggest cheer, beating the emergence of Steve Rogers from the shadows during the showing of Avengers Infinity War at Magic Johnson's Theatre but that is only temporary. Even if it is near the corner of Martin Luther King Jr BLVD and soon to be Barack Obama BLVD the local area is in process to changing as the grandchildren of the white folks who started leaving in the 1950s are returning.

In another generation "Wakanda Park" could be like Koreatown, which is mostly Latino despite the signage and shops,

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by Taiko

The Wakanda location marker did get the biggest cheer, beating the emergence of Steve Rogers from the shadows during the showing of Avengers Infinity War at Magic Johnson's Theatre but that is only temporary. Even if it is near the corner of Martin Luther King Jr BLVD and soon to be Barack Obama BLVD the local area is in process to changing as the grandchildren of the white folks who started leaving in the 1950s are returning.

In another generation "Wakanda Park" could be like Koreatown, which is mostly Latino despite the signage and shops,

It does seem demographics are changing a bit , with whites priced out of the Westside more likely to consider Leimart Park and other South L.A neighborhoods . But it seems in reality demographics don’t change as bad as the media makes it out to be .

It’s actually been more the Hispanic population that has really grown in South L.A over recent years .

You hear a lot about white hipsters taking over Echo Park and “pushing out “ low income Hispanics for example but in reality it’s still Hispanic majority .


I

[2Easy]

Originally Posted by jm1982

It does seem demographics are changing a bit , with whites priced out of the Westside more likely to consider Leimart Park and other South L.A neighborhoods . But it seems in reality demographics don’t change as bad as the media makes it out to be .

It’s actually been more the Hispanic population that has really grown in South L.A over recent years .

You hear a lot about white hipsters taking over Echo Park and “pushing out “ low income Hispanics for example but in reality it’s still Hispanic majority .


I

But Leimert is different. Just a few years ago it was somewhat uncommon to see even Hispanics around that area. There are more white people there than there were Hispanics just a few years ago. It’s staggering to see. We won’t have anymore majority black neighborhoods soon at this rate.

[Miss Pip]

Rest in Peace Marcus Davion Higgens

July 7, 1978 - May 26, 2018

Africa Town forever

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by 2Easy

But Leimert is different. Just a few years ago it was somewhat uncommon to see even Hispanics around that area. There are more white people there than there were Hispanics just a few years ago. It’s staggering to see. We won’t have anymore majority black neighborhoods soon at this rate.

Considering how low the % of blacks in CA is, having a black majority area will be hard.

[AndyDwyer480]

Maybe we could call Beverly hills Israel?

Where do we end with this? We could have fun with it for a while as long as no one gets offended.