Evidence of Diversity

Evidence Of Diversity

Diversity was evident throughout the community in the areas of religion, culture, ethnicity, education, and language to mention a few. The people that were seen throughout the community were representative of diverse cultures. Females, males, young children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly were all seen passing by throughout the busy streets of Compton.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Monument is located in front of the Compton Court House and is a landmark for the city of Compton.

Mini murals of minority historical leaders in front of the courthouse such as: Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King and Sojourner Truth.

The Compton City Hall has pictures of its current local government officials. It is interesting to note that all present city hall officials are African American.

Signs of: "Birthing a New Compton" which is the mission of the city of Compton and this quote can be seen throughout the city. It became evident that many community members are pushing towards this mission of "birthing a new Compton" and are adamant about furthering the development of the city. It was a key point stressed by several of the residents of the city that it is their mission to eliminate the bad reputation Compton has in relation to gang and criminal activity and bring light to the great things that are happening in the city such as the redevelopment and the push to bring city residents from all walks of life together. The business sector is on the rise, which city leaders hope will contribute to the continued success and thrive of the city. However, there was a mixture of socioeconomic status that was evident among the city of Compton. While there were certain areas in which major plans were underway to attract more business, social networks, and the overall growth of the city there were also those areas that were representative of lower socioeconomic status. The differences in socioeconomic status were evident through the homes surrounding the neighborhoods of Compton. For instance, some homes appeared much smaller and run down, and some graffiti was present, while other areas such as the Richland Farms had larger homes, the families owned livestock such as horses, and the homes appeared less rundown.

Signs and posters that were displayed at different agencies were written in both English and Spanish. The languages these signs were in are indicative of some of the people present in the community. As demographics indicate, the two larger groups of people living in the city of Compton include Latinos and African Americans. Other languages that were observed at the Salvation Army include French, Chinese, and Filipino to name a few.

There are over 2,000 religious institutions in the city of Compton. Churches are of different denominations yet they have been able to interact with each other respecting each others belief systems in the past by way of a "Unity Day" event in which many community residents came together for an event filled with gospel singing, Hispanic gospel, Samoan and Aztec dancing. During the walkabout of the city some of the religious institutions that were seen include Catholic churches, Kingdom Hall for Jehovah's Witness, 7th Day Adventist, and a great number of other Christian churches of evangelical and Baptist denomination. Many of the religious institutions work together with local government to provide social services to families in the community. In fact it was interesting that a number of the city representatives involved in the local government and school board also had a role as ministers, pastors, and youth pastors. It was a common theme that the religious and spiritual component played a significant role in the lives of the residents of the City of Compton.



During our visit to the Salvation Army we got the perspective from Bob, a 14 year Compton resident who is an engineer/contractor who has volunteered his time to build a studio for the Salvation Army. When asked what it was like for him to live in Compton, being that he is a white male and there are not many Caucasians that live in Compton, he stated, "It is about incarnational living". He also stated that in order to help people you have to be willing to "live among people and be willing to be a neighbor". Another individual Christopher Bates, who is the Sports Outreach Director for the Salvation Army stated, "There is still huge tension between races especially between blacks and Hispanics". Bates mentioned that the Salvation Army has made efforts to bridge this gap by way of sports and designating different days for different sports. As a result, this has helped to bring together a diversity of people to play the different sports.