The Watts Truce was a peace agreement among rival Blood and Crips street gangs in Los Angeles, California, mainly in the neighborhood of Watts. The Watts Truce occurred days before the Rodney King Riots. This truce was a significant factor in the decline of street … Read MoreThe Watts Truce (1992)
Operation Hammer, a law enforcement program by the Los Angeles Police Department that began in 1987 was ostensibly an attempt to crack down on gang violence in Los Angeles, California. Many critics, however, saw the operation as racial profiling because it targeted the city’s African … Read MoreOperation Hammer (1987-1990)
David “DJ Quik” Marvin Blake is a rapper, songwriter, disk jockey, and music producer. Blake was born on January 18, 1970, to unnamed parents in Compton, California. He attended Centennial High School in Compton where fellow students were Andre Romelle “Dr. Dre” Young and Kendrick … Read MoreDJ Quik/ David Marvin Blake (1970- )
Anthony “Tone Loc” Terrell Smith is an American rapper and actor. Smith was born on March 3, 1966 to Margaret and James Smith in Los Angeles, California. His father died when he was six years old which left his mother to raise him and his … Read MoreTone Loc/ Anthony Terrell Smith (1966- )
Philip “Felipe” Luciano, poet, activist, musicologist, and journalist was born November 24, 1947 in East Harlem to Aurora Olmo Luciano, a factory worker and practical nurse, and Joseph Luciano, Jr., He was reared in East Harlem and Brownsville. Aurora, a devout Pentecostal, read extensively to … Read MoreFelipe Luciano (1947- )
Nicholas “Nick” Scott Cannon is an American actor, rapper, and comedian. Cannon was born on October 8, 1980, to James Cannon, a televangelist, and Beth Hackett, an accountant, in San Diego, California. Cannon grew up in the Lincoln Park’s Bay Vista Housing Projects where he … Read MoreNick Cannon (1980- )
Darryl Lynn Hughley, also known as D.L. Hughley, is a standup comedian, actor, political commentator, and radio host. Hughley was born on March 6, 1963 to Audrey and Charles Hughley in Portsmouth, Virginia. His family stayed in Portsmouth for two months before moving to Los … Read MoreDarryl Lynn (D.L.) Hughley (1963- )
Jeff Fort is a co-founder and former leader of the Chicago, Illinois street gang known by various names over time as the Blackstone Rangers, the Blackstone Nation, and the El Rukns. Fort was born on February 20, 1947 in Aberdeen, Mississippi to Annie Fort and … Read MoreJeff Fort (1947- )
Ermias Joseph “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom was a Grammy-nominated rapper and songwriter. Nipsey Hussle was born on August 15, 1985 in Los Angeles, California, to Dawit Asghedom, an Eritrean immigrant, and Angelique Smith an African American from Los Angeles. He also had an older brother, Samiel … Read MoreNipsey Hussle (1985-2019)
Compton is a city in Southern California, located in south Los Angeles County. Compton was settled in 1867 by thirty pioneer families led by Griffith Dickenson Compton, after whom the city was named. The first black families came to the city just before World War … Read MoreCompton, California (1867- )
