Below the Ten: Life in South LA

Every year, the students at ISLAH Academy, a private Islamic school inside a South LA mosque put on a winter program for their parents. 

Tyreek Bilal has gone through many transformations in his life. He’s been a confidant to powerful celebrities, a husband to six wives, father to 20 children and a celibate religious scholar. Now he's taking a stand against changes at his mosque and in his neighborhood.

Throughout South Los Angeles and the surrounding neighborhoods there’s a growing community of underground home chefs who sell food on Instagram. One of those chefs, a guy who goes by the name Mr. Fries Man, specializes in loaded french fries.

When someone gets shot in Skipp Townsend's community, he is often one of the first on the scene. Sometimes he knows the victim personally. Skipp works as a gang interventionist with the LAPD.

As a black kid growing up in South LA, Lt. Michael Carodine was regularly mistreated by police. But for Lt. Carodine, bad policing was a problem that could be solved; and he would help solve it.

Lita Herron, a 69-year-old grandmother of six, witnessed repeated shootings in her community. But her fear turned to anger and then to action.  

Several large developments are under construction south of the 10 Freeway, and some have initiatives to fill jobs with local, low-income workers. See how that can become a life-changing opportunity for job seekers burdened with a prison record.

When Chris Chambers' bus broke down in a small town in Texas, it ended up being a blessing in disguise.

On Aug. 26, 1954, Arthur Kitt Murray climbed into the cockpit of an experimental rocket at  Edwards Air Force Base, about a hundred miles north of Los Angeles in the Antelope Valley. Murray was about to fly as close to the stars as man had ever been. At 90,000 feet above the desert, Murray looked out the window of his cockpit and became the first human to see the curvature of the earth.

Luis Sanchez, who dresses in drag and goes by the name Grace of the Sea, sells bacon wrapped pineapple stuffed hot dogs in Jefferson Park a couple days a week. He also sells candy out of a golden basket. 

Luis Gutierez Sanchez, who calls himself "Grace of the Sea," has been living in a garage in South LA for six years. But now he has to move. He tells his story of living as a gay undocumented immigrant in Los Angeles. Warning: This program contains explicit language and addresses adult topics and themes - including sex and drug use.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans ten years ago, Cassandra Cousin got out as soon as she could and relocated to South LA. Now, she lives with her son in a house next to her church, where she's found solace. "Another reason I don't want to go back down there is because I don't want to be in another hurricane. It was just too much for me," she says. 

Straight Outta Compton, the N.W.A. biopic opens this weekend, but a lot has changed in the city since the 90's. As part of our series Below the Ten: Life in South LA, producer David Weinberg looks at the Compton of today. 

Below the Ten: Life in South LA is an ongoing series telling intimate stories about the people who live in the neighborhoods south of the 10 Freeway, including Watts, Jefferson Park, and Compton.