Another Place like South LA: The Block

                There is a place just like South LA in Australia. It's not easy living in a place called the ghetto and most people don't expect a colored kid to accomplish anything in life. This place is called The Block, and its located in a area what is described as the "ghetto".  There is a teenaged boy named fred and he was born and raised on the block. Fred has a broken down home, and there are twelve individuals living under his roof. He stated that the block changed after the riots happend and he never liked the block. Fred's cousin was killed on the block. While his cousin was out he was hit by a police car while being chased. "I guess I was too young to understand.", He stated.  Fred started off not liking the block from the beginning. However, he had to push all of the complaints aside because this was a place called home to him. The dirty and tragic neighborhood is all he knows and he knows that this shouldnt be acceptable but he wants to overcome this obstacle. Fred wants to go to college and become a lawyer so that he can come back to the block and help out. Just like in Australia there are other individuals in South LA who have there story of living in the ghetto. There is a girl her name is Lamika and she is a foster child. When she was first sent to a foster home she gave up on everything and she felt alone. Lamika grew up in the South LA streets, where she lost her mother to a drug addiction. This young lady felt as if it was normal to see someone selling drugs or using a substance. As she walks her neighborhood she notices the abandoned and broken down houses and she feels as if she can do better. She ends up going to college majoring in the medical field. "I never thought I could do something in life...", she said solemnly. The two stories relate because both of the individuals have been through challenging obstacles, but yet they still want to do more. They dont want sympathy, they just want to show that they can be called something other than "that colored kid from the ghetto". These stories tie together and proves to us that there is other places like South LA.    http://www.sbs.com.au/theblock/#/explore/

Gangs in South LA

Gang violence  affects South LA in a tremendous amount of ways. There are over 200 gangs in communities of South LA, not counting the ones that are undiscovered. Majority of the time gang violence results in murder, vandalism, robbery, and drug distribution. Many innocent individuals  are constantly affected by  this issue in South LA. Citizens shouldn't have to be afraid to walk out in  there neighborhood and enjoy their day without catching a bullet or being "banged" on. The gangs in the community often have rivalry with other gangs and that creates a huge conflict. These gangs are distributing drugs to people, even minors. Drugs is a whole different issue in South LA.

Student to Prison Pipeline

 

This is a very extraordinary picture that explains expectations of student coming from public schools. Basically the picture is saying that students from public education have no funds and are pushed more and more towards prison. The prison industrial complex is feeding off of these students from public education because they didn't have the support they need. All of the money that needs to be going to schools is going towards prison because that is where students from public schools are expected to go. The prison industrial complex is welcoming the students and they believe that they cant get money through public education so they follow the money which is usually the wrong path that leads to prison. This connects to South LA because students from South LA are expected to go to prison and become nothing in life. It is common that young individuals from South LA follow the wrong path and end up in prison. South LA students have to manage to go to school with all of the misleading and illegal things around them. Some are capable of staying away from gangs and drugs around them but most are introduced and reeled in the prison pipeline.

Fighting for school needs in South LA

  

This is a program called Community Coalition consisting youth leaders in South LA. They were getting petitions so that they can get votes from board members to sup;port their student need index. The top ten highest need schools are schools located in South LA. These youth leaders wants equity in the school funding systems in LA compared to other areas. If you were to visit a school like Fremont High School for example, and then visit Beverly Hills High, you would see a tremendous difference safety, money, and area wise. South LA schools should be just as  nice as other areas. The South LA youth should have new books, clean restrooms, more teachers, better safety precautions, protection, and most of all the should feel comfortable in their neighborhood.

Homelessness

Homelessness In South Los Angeles

 

Homelessness is a major issue in South LA because it gives the community a bad image. Most homeless individuals loiter all day asking for money or food. Homelessness should be removed from the South LA so that people could feel comfortable when leaving their homes. Most of the time unemployment leads to homelessness. homeless individuals find any and every where to rest, live, or sleep. They sleep on park benches, bus stops, tent cities, alleys, parks, in the beach, beside other peoples homes, and many other places. There are multiple homeless shelters downtown but the waiting list is often full. Homelessness makes south LA look like a dirty, unsafe, and horrible city to live in. South LA should be a more presentable place to call home, however homelessness is a normal thing to see for a south LA citizen.