“It’s just amazing to me and I’m just so proud of it. “I’ve carried that on with my children,” and now they’ve taught that to their children. “I’m a go-getter,” Morris said, adding that the women in her family have passed down their drive to her.
She later went on to become an occupational therapist and earn her bachelor’s degree online at age 72. With three children, including Colbert’s mother, Yolondra, Morris stayed home while her then-husband worked. neighborhood, which was diverse, but by 1962, she found herself in Compton, where she was able to fulfill one of her lifetime goals: purchasing her own home. Morris had fond memories of her South L.A. Her mother had just gotten a divorce and wanted to be closer to her brother, who already lived in the city, which had been offering more job opportunities to Black people.
with her mother and sister when she was a preschooler. “Our passion for the city is multigenerational,” Colbert said.īorn in Chicago, Morris - Colbert’s maternal grandmother - moved to L.A. And Colbert’s younger sister, Christian, has a clothing brand called Compton Flight Crew, which pays homage to their hometown. Colbert’s parents, Yolondra and David Colbert Sr., who’ve been married for more than 40 years, met at Compton High School and regularly volunteer at their alma mater and with other local nonprofit organizations. I’m from Compton’ in any space.” He plans to open a large-scale gallery or museum in Compton in the near future.Ĭolbert’s dedication to his hometown, whether it’s through Gallery 90220 or the Compton Art Walk - which he launched in 2018 - stems from his roots in the city, which go back three generations.Īt 85, his only living grandparent, Maryland Morris, is among the oldest living residents in Compton. “But it was important for me to say like, ‘Hey, I’m 90220.
City of compton history zip#
“I could have named the gallery anything,” he said about Gallery 90220, which is inspired by his Compton ZIP code. complex known as the Beehive in 2021, Colbert made sure to represent his hometown right from the jump. That’s why when SoLa Impact - an affordable housing and real estate investment company - offered Colbert an opportunity to open the first business inside its South L.A. “So I always took pride in that and wanted to leave my mark.” "Anything they want to achieve in their heart truly - they can now come to a museum and see themselves and say hey, I'm not that far away," said Marquelle.“What sets Compton apart is that we have a long lineage of success stories,” said Colbert, a gallery owner and longtime art curator. The museum highlights items like archives from Cal State L.A., murals and paintings and other local art that showcases what life is like in Compton, from their point of view. How we identify ourselves by the places that we inhabit. "We hear this rhetoric that you have to leave in order to make it, and I think about that for young creatives of why aren't we preparing young people?" said Abigail. The hope is to inspire young people to beat the stigma sometimes attached to Compton. They still met their goal, with the doors opening on Feb.
Somebody came in, broke in and took all of our tools," said Marquelle.Ī burglary wouldn't stop them. "One day I came in and all of our tools were gone. They did most of the physical work themselves, but there were a few roadblocks. So when a space opened up in their office building, they made their vision a reality. "Realizing we don't have a creative space in the city - we don't have a museum that highlights local art and history in the city and we constantly had to leave to have these conversations around black and brown art," said Abigail. Last summer, they came up with the idea of having a museum to support their projects. The Byrds run a non-profit called "Color Compton," which helps young people build community through art and history. "We're standing in something that once was a vision," said Marquelle Byrd. For founders of the Compton Art and History Museum Marquelle and Abigail Lopez-Byrd, this is a long-time dream come true. (KABC) - A new community museum in Compton is showcasing local art designed to inspire young people. A new community museum in Compton is showcasing local art designed to inspire young people and showcases what life is like in Compton, from their points of view.ĬOMPTON, Calif.
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