Wynn MedingerThe Compton area of Los Angeles is probably best know for gangster rap and a high murder rate. In fact, the crime rate is double the U.S. average.
But, the Compton Jr. Posse is using horseback riding to change the gangster stereotypes. The New York Times said, “For Anthony Harris, 35, walking to the corner store to buy a soda in his hometown, Compton, Calif., often comes with the risk of being stopped and searched by the police. But when Mr. Harris and other members of a group of horse riders known as the “Compton Cowboys” choose to ride their horses to the store, something entirely different happens.
“They don’t pull us over or search us when we’re on the horses,” Mr. Harris said while riding a dark brown horse named Koda as two police cars slowly drove past him on a recent trip to the store. “They would have thought we were gangbangers and had guns or dope on us if we weren’t riding, but these horses protect us from all of that.” (Read the story here)
See the Compton Cowboys on Instagram.
Watch the founder of The Compton Jr Posse Mayisha Akbar talks along with Patricia Heaton and Jami Heidegger about a program that keeps kids off the streets of Compton and on horses as a alternative to gangs.