Magic Johnson Regional Park Equestrian Center

Magic Johnson Park serves a very diverse - largely African American and Latino - community, who both share a common interest and experience with horses. Horses have played an important role in American culture throughout our expansive history. African Americans in South Los Angeles areas like Compton, Watts, Athens, including the location of Magic Johnson Park have a long history of involvement in all aspects of equestrian culture from western, English, racing, rodeo, etc.

Because of racial and economic exclusion, these areas were not allowed to enjoy the equestrian lifestyle but by the late 1950s, this was becoming undone. Neighborhoods throughout L.A. County had strong equestrian cultures during this period. There was a very active chapter of Equestrian Trails, Inc., a recreational group, in Compton, where the renovated Johnson Park is located. But Compton, which was until the 1950s an exclusively white, working-class community, was undergoing rapid racial transitions (and no small amount of racial violence) during this period.

White homeowners there were not, by and large, concerned with protecting horse-keeping at that time; they were just trying to get out.

Today, neighboring Compton, despite its inner-city reputation, has a strong equestrian community. Staffers, volunteers, and alumni of organizations like the nonprofit Compton Junior Posse, which introduces local children to horsemanship, spoke in favor of the park plan.

The equestrian center at Magic Johnson Park will signal that horse-keeping and horseback riding have both economic and cultural value. Equally important, it will communicate that city and county officials in Los Angeles are now protecting the rights and abilities of all people to enjoy those benefits. Safety and care are priorities and the equestrian center can have an immediate impact on riders who will no longer have to share the roads with automobiles.

One public comment in response to the proposed project:

Michael Hill • 2 years ago
I wistfully remember riding horses along Figueroa near where the last stables were once located before commercial development relegated the horses and their owners elsewhere. I'd ride again and take kids there to learn about the handling of horses if they build it. NIMBY's (a person who objects to the siting of something perceived as unpleasant or potentially dangerous in their own neighborhood, such as a landfill or hazardous waste facility, especially while raising no such objections to similar developments elsewhere.), always ruin opportunities for young kids because they all have forgotten the joys of being young and wanting something meaningful to enjoy.

With this petition, we want to show Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who represents our area, that his constituents want the equestrian facility at Magic Johnson Park.