The Gilbert W. Lindsay Center: Promoting Safety and the Individual

By Kenneth Pickens

One may think of South Los Angeles and instantly shudder from chilling stories they may have heard, but recently the community has done a lot to improve its reputation by working with the community. One of these efforts has been the expansion of the Gilbert W. Lindsay Recreation center.

“We focus on the person,” says Jimmy Williams, the center’s director. “Safety for the me, safety for the youth, safety for everything is our mission.”

Lindsay was the city’s first black councilman from 1962 to 1990. He helped turn LA into a major metropolitan city by bringing big businesses downtown and supporting commercial residences on the underdeveloped Skid Row before his death 21 years ago.

“He amassed a lot of things for the city,” Williams proudly stated.

 In honor of his efforts, the recreation was named and dedicated to him in 2009. The city also completed their project of a recreational center that same year that included an office, kitchen, large multipurpose room, new storage and maintenance rooms, lighting, asphalt for basketball courts, cameras directly connected to the Newton Street police station for safety and a renovated playground that same year.

“We’re not the average park,” said Williams. “Before November 12 of 2009, we only had one little shack of a building. We didn’t have this multi-room center. But since then, we have seen a transformation of this area.”

One of the transformations that Williams is referring to is the decrease in crime and violence. The park served as the official home for the Los Angeles Angels and former Wrigley Field baseball field in 1925. The ballpark was demolished in 1966 and turned into a playground. For the next three decades, crime ran rampant in the area.

“When it was torn down, the area became a more intense environment. We had more shootings, rival gangs, and drug trafficking.”

The city courts placed an injunction against the 43rd street Crips, an African-American gang, in 2003 and 2004, banning them from the area, according to Williams. He also says that the injunction didn’t include the 41st street gang, which consists of Hispanics. This further complicated the relations between the two races in the area.

“The black and brown situation is somewhat intense,” he said. “We just had graffiti taken off of the wall here from the 41st gang. If you see a black youth walking in certain areas around here, there’s going to be some confrontation.”
To help avoid confrontation, the Gilbert Lindsay Center picks students up in the neighborhood and takes them to the center’s after school program, helping them with homework, providing recreation and providing safety from local gangs. During the summer, the recreation area also offers employment to students from schools in the neighborhood nearby and various camps.

“I feel really safe here,” says Jose Morales, a student from a nearby middle school. “No one really cared about it before, but now that there’s rules that say no gangs or gambling, people like to come here more often.”

Williams says that by the renovated recreation center being in the neighborhood and promoting positive events in the community, he hopes that young people become inspired.

“I want this center to have character guidance, attitude adjusment, and behavorial modification. Those are three things that I kind of push,” says Williams. “Have love for your fellow man and come have fun.”

The community center is located at 429 East 42nd street in South Los Angeles and is open daily until 6 p.m. For more information, call the center at (323) 846-7584.