California -- African-American Arts Thrive In LA District

LOS ANGELES - The women wore jewel-colored gowns - orange, magenta, red and gold lame. They shook their hips wildly, to the quickening beat of African drums. In delirious fervor, they swung their heads up and down, back and forth, bobbing so vigorously that eventually head wraps - blue, white and gold - flew into the street like so much tickertape in a parade.

As the dancing ended, a dreadlocked drummer punctuated the final thump of his instrument with a long and lusty shout: "Afrikaaa!!!!" The crowd cheered approvingly, then slowly dispersed to booths offering fried plantain and jollof rice, and to local businesses selling colorful robes, mudcloth caps, hand-carved sculpture and exotic oils.

Mali? Ghana? Senegal?

It felt, looked, smelled, tasted like a capital city in any of those countries. At least, that is what you could imagine, if you ignored some of the more obvious signs - such as the Lakers billboards - that would suggest Los Angeles.

This is Leimert Park - a tiny, virtually unknown quarter of south-central LA that has become a vital enclave for African-American artists and musicians. It's a fledgling "cultural district" of African-American museums, galleries, boutiques and jazz clubs.

Today, a Kwanzaa festival has attracted hundreds to an African marketplace. But even where there is no festival, Leimert Park is captivating.

Though still an undiscovered attraction for tourists spellbound by the sybaritic image of Hollywood Boulevard, Venice Beach and Beverly Hills, the area is now being sought out by an adventurous few - particularly African-American tourists - who have read about it in trendy magazines, or have heard about it from relatives or friends.

Locals believe there soon will come a day when visitors will venture to Los Angeles not only to eat crisp, sugar-coated Mexican churros on Olvera Street or buy delicate, fresh-baked almond cookies in frenetic Chinatown but also to spend time - and money - in Leimert, sampling jalapeno jelly at the Kongo Square Gallery & Gift Shop or stopping into 5th Street Dick's Coffee Company for pastries and fast, twisting, colliding jazz.

"It's the only area that I know of that has a clustering of African-American art," said Shaka Camara, co-owner of Bak-Tu-Jua, a small boutique of handmade, African-inspired original jewelry, leather goods and art. "And it's very authentic. Nothing around here is commercial. . . . It's like our Olvera Street, or our Chinatown."

And to be certain, Leimert Park does have charm if visitors bother to look past the wig stores and pawn shops that proliferate in the surrounding neighborhood. At first glance, the area seems tattered and down at the heels, with a couple of vacant lots and more than a few businesses that would not inspire a gawking visitor to whisper, "Well, would you look at that, Mabel!"

At night there is an added discouragement: the local village green has been known as a gathering spot for bored teenagers, or worse, bored gang members.

But just half an afternoon in Leimert Park, and first perceptions disappear like so much shrimp in the stew.

When a visitor discovers authentic hand-carved African spears, she changes her mind. When she finds handmade Christmas ornaments with African-American subjects, she thinks twice. When she spots a vintage jazz album, or black memorabilia from the '30s, she reconsiders. And when she visits a shop offering striking, original clothing, hats and jewelry by up-and-coming African-American designers, she is, finally, convinced.

Leimert Park is filled with treasures made all the more precious by the fact that they are so unexpected. It's a less-polished alternative offering none of the ritz and glitz that tourists customarily seek. And that, quite frankly, is its charm.

"It's a vital African-American community," said Jimi Walton, an artist and owner of the Walton Gallery in Leimert Park - and president of the Leimert Park Merchants Association. "We want to keep that African-American flair, the `kente cloth.' That's what we plan to do. We want to close off part of the street and put a structure in the park. . . . We want people to know everywhere that this is a place to come."

About 12,000 people live in Leimert, in modest Spanish-stucco homes that abut the prestigious Baldwin Hills and View Park neighborhoods.

It's just a few miles south of the Santa Monica Freeway and a few miles east of La Brea Boulevard. It is bounded by Crenshaw Boulevard on the west, but set away from the cacophonous rumble of that street by a small, protective park square - Leimert Park Plaza - designed by acclaimed architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

The park is the setting of the colorful, annual Kwanzaa and Maat Kidogo festivals. But on many ordinary Saturdays and Sundays, vendors set up shop on the green and hawk African clothing, jewelry, T-shirts and incense.

Degnan Boulevard, a sleepy little street with small-scale storefronts, is actually the area's pulse. The street is home to a museum, an arts academy owned by actress Marla Gibbs, a dance studio, a jazz hall and several boutiques, gift shops and galleries. A stroll down Degnan reveals one of the most vibrant arts scenes in Los Angeles- a Harlem Renaissance in miniature.

Every so often, a well-known jazz musician will be spotted with bass or sax outside the World Stage rehearsal space on Degnan. Artists and crafts people can be seen in their studios, crafting leather sandals, or setting up displays of cowrie shell jewelry or fussing with original designer evening gowns fashioned from traditional African cloth. Movie companies come to Leimert Park to film every now and then, lured by a tranquil village atmosphere.

In midafternoon, groups of office workers stop into Coley's, the local Jamaican restaurant on Crenshaw Boulevard for authentic Caribbean fare.

In the afternoons and evenings, poets filter into 5th Street Dick's Coffee Company for poetry readings and jazz musicians for long, lingering sessions with their instruments. A local comedy club pulls in more evening patrons.

On Saturdays, there is more hustle and bustle, and several times during the year when a festival comes to the neighborhood, the area takes on the flavor of a small African city. That is the best time to visit.

The annual Kwanzaa Fest and Parade, one of the largest Leimert Park events, is held shortly after Christmas. Celebrating the African-American cultural holiday, it features dancing, music, African and Caribbean food, and the crowning of a Kwanzaa Oba (king) and a Kwanzaa Iyaba (queen).

While merchants and residents are proud of their area, and are hoping it will be discovered by more tourists, they also fear the flip side of success, that one day Leimert Park may become so popular that the artists can't afford to stay. They are particularly concerned with a city redevelopment plan - monorails, cobbled streets and pedestrian malls - that they might ultimately drive up prices and strip the area of the cultural feel it has acquired with time.

But for now, Leimert Park is just the kind of place south-central Los Angeles needs, particularly after the tensions and destruction last year. And for the out-of-town visitor looking to get a cultural feel of the city, it is a perfect stop.