South LA or South Central? - Pt. 3 - Tracking Popularity

In the last two parts, we saw what people prefer to call this region. And then went over a brief history around this region. Now we’ll tackle the question of South LA or South Central by tracking term popularity.
Here's a direct link to the South Central Los Angeles, South Central LA, South Los Angeles, South LA - Google Ngram Search - check it out - books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
NYTimes Article using Southwest Los Angeles - www.nytimes.com/1973/04/23/ar...
Washington Post using Southeast Los Angeles - www.washingtonpost.com/archiv...

[@vision-gc4hy]

Your research is brilliance. You really nailed the timeline through sheer research. I was born in South L.A. in 1959 in a hospital on the southeast corner of 120th and Broadway. As a boy, South Central was very specifically limited to the area along Central Ave up around where the historic district is now. There used to be street signs designating the boundary on Central Ave. The first place I lived was in public housing called Palm Lane which is exactly where Martin Luther King Jr Hospital is. Everything outside of the traditional South Central district was either Southwest or Southeast. We moved to Southwest (South of Southwest College) in 1969. There were a lot of Japanese people living there then. There's a reason why LAPD has a Southwest Division and a Southeast Division along with the Central Bureau. You could drill down to specific neighborhoods such as Watts and Willowbrook and West Athens. I remember when Gangsgta Rap was beginning around '86 and '87 the term South Central suddenly began to be applied to the entirety of South Los Angeles for some reason. Then popularized in movies and songs. Keep up the great work.

[@SouthLARecap]

Thanks so much, vision63. I really appreciate this added context-and you’re so right about the separation. In a video I published on George Washington Prep, we learned Southwest college actually started on Prep’s campus, as the Southwest continued to build out. The Crenshaw Mall is another example of how that separation mattered. Really cool stuff! Thanks for watching.

[@hugobaires2113]

Thanks for sharing this have you made a video of fashion district vernon and Broadway would like to see what that area look like befor the 110 fwy ive been looking for this born and rise in SOUTH CENTRAL LA

[@SouthLARecap]

I’ll look into this!

[@westcoastmex629]

I feel like term South Central was made popular through pop culture.I didn’t start hearing it till after the 80s maybe I’m wrong since I was 11 when we move there from Huntington Park.

[@lilrapp60]

It was the news ppl calling every crime scene that involved black ppl south central

[@westcoastmex629]

Code word for this is the place you need to stay away from white boy 😂

[@lesthebest3171]

Racism and Redlining is the main reason The is confusion in what to call this part of L.A south of Wiltshire and East of LaCienega. I will however wait unti you conclude the series before I conclude.