Before View Park became known as the “Black Beverly Hills,” it was developed in the 1920s by the Los Angeles Investment Company for white homeowners only. By 1940, it was part of the 80% of Los Angeles that was off limits to black families.
“When my husband's parents, who were very rich, they were lawyers as well and entertainers, they could not live west of Arlington,” Dr. Carol Nicholas, a resident, told KNX News’ Alex Silverman.
In 1948, the Supreme Court would change things with the Shelley v. Kraemer ruling, which determined that state courts could not constitutionally uphold racially restrictive covenants.
Alison Rose Jefferson, a historian who studies the L.A. black experience, said it took a while for things to change in View Park.
“White folks who had bought those houses up in View Park decided, in some cases, to move to some of those outerlying areas for these new jobs,” she said. “That opened up opportunities for black folks to buy those houses.”
Andre Gaines, a resident who led the push to get the neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places, said the community was built from scratch, but that it wasn’t always easy.
“Older friends tell us stories about how they had to buy their house in View Park with a surrogate,” he said.
Over the years, the name Black Beverly Hills started to stick, but it is not a name everyone embraces.
“I think it's somewhat of a demeaning title,” Gaines said. “Do I need to be black version of anything?”
But Gaines added that View Park represents “the preservation of black wealth.”
“It represents an incredible case study of generational wealth and what that means,” he said.
Listen to the full segment in the audio above.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok