For the past four months, journalist and USC student Melissa Leu visited the monthly meetings of the neighborhood council Voices of 90037. During her time, she found out a lot about how hyper-local politics operate in underserved communities. Voices of 90037 represent the a strip just north of Watts. It sits between the 110 and Flower Street, south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to 62nd Street.

Leu captures the challenges and inspiration of the Voices of 90037 through a series profiling members of the council.

Voices of 90037 Vice Chair Carol Black has lived in South LA since 1954. Originally on the Vermont-Harbor Neighborhood Council, Black became one of the founders of Voices of 90037 when Vermont-Harbor was decertified about 9 years ago.

Come back Friday, December 23, for the next profile!