Compton at a Creek

 
I have lived in Compton for my whole life and never thought that I would be at the Creek. Simply because I never knew about it, like it wasn’t a part of the area I live in. Cutting it off from the ones that call Compton home, so when I came here, I still saw people care for it. Though me and my friends had some fun and worked hard cleaning the Creek, I still look at it as another land that needs to be taken care of. For simply it’s not for the people of Compton but for everyone that calls LA home.

It also cannot be home without the history that came with it. As it’s a tributary of a collected watershed that brought in migratory birds such as herons, ducks, egrets, plovers, and other types. Until the creation of Watts but it wasn’t called Watts at the time but given a nickname “Mudtown” due to it being a wetland it left the area muddy all the time.

Then a catastrophic flood happened in 1938 when the route would be encased in concrete which would act as a flood control for the channel. Then later Joe Linton, who is an artist, author, and activist, wrote the book Down By the Los Angeles River that talks about the waterway being one of the most polluted in America, yet it still attracts birdwatchers. Which brings up the question that even though this waterway has the title of being one of the most polluted places in America, it still thrives against the odds?

I will ask you a question, how long will it take for us to thrive even with the odds stacked against us?

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(Featured image by Adam Moss; used under CC BY-SA 2.0)