Just over a decade ago, the broad swath of the county popularly known as South Central was synonymous with black Los Angeles. But now middle-class African Americans are leaving, often dispersing to communities that once were all white. Meanwhile, many non-Hispanic whites are often relocating to even more distant suburbs or leaving California altogether. What is happening here represents the leading edge of racial and ethnic changes affecting communities across America. That is b.s.
Diversity simply is.
But the exploding diversity also has changed the nature of racial conflict and drawn new groups into battles that once were waged almost exclusively between blacks and whites. Here, black and Latino civil servants square off over public jobs. Blacks activists and Asian store owners fight over control of local businesses. And Latino and Asian gangs battle for control of their turf. This new reality fuels the racial isolation evident in many walks of life here.