A Look at Gritty Gang Life, With Air Conditioning

by Josie Raymond · 2010-01-19 11:39:00 UTC
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Visit beautiful South Central, Los Angeles. Spend a few hours taking in the culture. Appreciate the unique history -- poverty, racial strike, gang warfare -- that formed the region. Take photos you'll treasure for a lifetime in front of graffiti murals. Marvel at world-famous attraction like the site of the Symbionese Liberation Army shoot out, the sheriff's station used by the National Guard during the Watts riots and the Los Angeles County Jail, "the unofficial jail to over 120,000 gang members!".

Those are basically the selling points of L.A. Gang Tours, a new non-profit company that will guide you through many of the most tragic places in Los Angeles for $65. Founder and former gang member Alfred Lomas says that the tours are meant to bring attention and money to a resurgent community. The first trip, last Saturday, was sold out.

Countering critics who say he's exploiting the sad history of the area, Lomas told the L.A. Times, "You can talk about exploitation all day long, but this is about spiritual redemption and change. I'm not 'touring' the 'hood. I'm building awareness and insight." Still, in the portion of the tour in the clip below, it's hard not to notice the contrast between Lomas, a Latino with tattoos on his neck, the white passengers and the blacks and Latinos seen out the bus windows.

Photo credit: L.A. Gang Tours

Josie Raymond has reported from the streets of the South Bronx, written for several magazines that folded (not her fault) and fixed thousands of typos.
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