Alfred Lomas walks into the Los Angeles River basin below the 6th Street bridge. The tours will make a stop here, to show the urban tagging scene. (Los Angeles Times) |
LOS ANGELES -- Tourists are lining up for L.A.'s newest attraction; an up close and personal look at the Southland's famous gang neighborhoods.
"L.A. Gang Tours," which began operations in January, takes tourists to the streets that gave rise to the Crips, Bloods and other notorious gangs. L.A. Gang Tours, founded by a former self professed gang member, is already beginning to sell out.
The nonprofit group offers two-hour tours at an initial cost of $65 per adult. Profits are funneled back into the community through jobs, "franchised" tours in new areas and micro-loans to inner-city entrepreneurs.
"This is ground zero for a lot of the bad in this city. It could be ground zero for a lot of the good too," said Alfred Lomas, a former Florencia 13 gang member and intervention worker in South Los Angeles who is spearheading the tours. "This is true community empowerment."
Initially, the routes will focus on South L.A., with forays into Watts and Florence-Firestone.
Lomas, who is leading the tours, talks about important chapters in the development of the city's core, such as how racist housing restrictions shaped ethnic enclaves and the formation of gangs.
The organization is bolstered by business leaders and gang experts who are contributing start-up capital and advice.
Several are connected to the Dream Center, the L.A. church ministry where Lomas directs a food bank. Lomas credits the group with helping him to turn his life around.
Kevin Malone, a former Dodgers general manager, sits on the board of the Dream Center's charitable arm and has become one of Lomas' chief supporters.
He said the goal is to introduce self-sustaining economic development into the city's poorest neighborhoods.
Similar tours have cropped up in Mumbai's slum of Dharavi and in Rio de Janeiro's "favelas."
Anyone can get on the bus. They must first sign a release saying they understand the risks and they could become a victim of gang violence.
For more information:
LA GANG TOURS
"L.A. Gang Tours," which began operations in January, takes tourists to the streets that gave rise to the Crips, Bloods and other notorious gangs. L.A. Gang Tours, founded by a former self professed gang member, is already beginning to sell out.
The nonprofit group offers two-hour tours at an initial cost of $65 per adult. Profits are funneled back into the community through jobs, "franchised" tours in new areas and micro-loans to inner-city entrepreneurs.
"This is ground zero for a lot of the bad in this city. It could be ground zero for a lot of the good too," said Alfred Lomas, a former Florencia 13 gang member and intervention worker in South Los Angeles who is spearheading the tours. "This is true community empowerment."
Initially, the routes will focus on South L.A., with forays into Watts and Florence-Firestone.
Lomas, who is leading the tours, talks about important chapters in the development of the city's core, such as how racist housing restrictions shaped ethnic enclaves and the formation of gangs.
The organization is bolstered by business leaders and gang experts who are contributing start-up capital and advice.
Several are connected to the Dream Center, the L.A. church ministry where Lomas directs a food bank. Lomas credits the group with helping him to turn his life around.
Kevin Malone, a former Dodgers general manager, sits on the board of the Dream Center's charitable arm and has become one of Lomas' chief supporters.
He said the goal is to introduce self-sustaining economic development into the city's poorest neighborhoods.
Similar tours have cropped up in Mumbai's slum of Dharavi and in Rio de Janeiro's "favelas."
Anyone can get on the bus. They must first sign a release saying they understand the risks and they could become a victim of gang violence.
For more information:
LA GANG TOURS
