[Intro]
Compton was the American dream
Sunny California with a palm tree in the front yard
the camper, the boat
Temptingly close to the Los Angeles ghetto
in the 50's and 60's, it became "The Black American Dream. "
Open housing paved the way as middle-class blacks
flooded into the city
Whites don't buy houses in Compton anymore
Now with 74 of the population
black power is the fact of life. From banks to bowling alleys
But the dream that many blacks thought they were buying
has turned sour. Though the mayor
and four out of five city councilmen are black
they have been unable to solve the problems
of crime and growing welfare
which is slowing turning suburban Compton
into an extension of the black inner city
Crime is now as high as the ghetto
47 homicides last year gave Compton one of the
highest per capita rates in the country
Juvenile gang activity, muggings, small robberies
make some blacks want to leave