Compton was the American dream
Sunny California wit a palm tree in the front yard
The camper, the boat
Temptingly close to the Los Angeles ghetto in the fifties and sixties
It became 'The Black American Dream'
Open housin' paved the way as middle class blacks flooded into the city
Whites don't buy houses in Compton anymore
Now wit 74 percent of the population, black power is the fact of life
From banks to bowlin' alleys
But the dream that many blacks thought they were buyin' has turned sour
Though the mayor and four out of five city councilmen are black
They have been unable to solve the problems of crime and growin' welfare
Which is slowin' turnin' suburban Compton into an extension of the black inner city
Crime is now as high as the ghetto
47 homicides last year gave Compton one of the highest per capita rates in the country
Juvenile gang activity, muggings, small robberies make some blacks want to leave