Meet Eric Craig | Documentarian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eric Craig and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m from Los Angeles, but I was born and raised in South Los Angeles. Growing up, I never really thought much about where I lived. In fact, I thought strip malls, being moments from a train tracks, having bars on windows, and being on a track system in school was all completely normal. It wasn’t until I was much older, and traveled much more, that I realized that people live much differently in the city with many more privileges. Though, I still haven’t figured out if that is a “good” or “bad” thing yet, but it’s certainly set the standard of my expectations in life (and that I never really cared much for luxuries, either).

As an adult I find my background complex. I’ve spoken to so many others in the region embarrassed or even ashamed about where they grew up. It’s like, for some people, it can be a stigma to tell someone you grew up or–worse–live in South LA. And I know that’s not a good feeling on either end: To feel ashamed about or hide where you lived.

It wasn’t until I left Los Angeles for college and moved back in 2018 that I became interested in how things came to be in South Los Angeles. There had to be more to the story, but simple Google searches about the history of the region came up dry. Search engine algorithms appeared to be accustomed to sharing current unfortunate events that happened in South LA rather than to inform users about the history of the region.

That’s why I started The South LA Recap, a YouTube docu-series dedicated to highlighting the vast history, people, and neighborhoods of the South Los Angeles region. And in the past two years, I’ve been able to share so much about the region’s incredible history. Some stories sparked memories for older viewers. Other stories sparked curiosities for younger viewers. But the point that mattered is that a dialogue on the region’s history and current state had begun. This, as I hoped when I started The South LA Recap in 2020, would be the catalyst for so many others to be proud of where they live.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

During the day, I’m a communication manager for a non-profit education organization.

In the late afternoon, I’m the creator of The South LA Recap, a docu-series dedicated to exploring the vast history, people, and neighborhoods of South Los Angeles that primarily lives on YouTube.

There’s so many YouTubers and TikTokers that talk about Los Angeles. High rent. Towering buildings. Historic sites. Traffic. But few that talk about the history of South Los Angeles, and why the region is in the state that it is in now. In 2020, after living in a different state for six years, and practicing journalism, I wondered why there wasn’t accessible content that explored the history of South Los Angeles, and why it wasn’t being pushed by search engines like Google and YouTube.

So, I decided I would try my hand at building content. I had experience making it for so many things, so why not for the neighborhood I grew up in?

I started by tackling a burning question I’ve had for years: South LA or South Central. I thought the answer would be easy, squared away in a book. But it wasn’t. In fact, through that preliminary research, I created a four-part series on how South LA / South Central got its name, and which one actually mattered today.

After I published that video and got maybe 30 views, I still had questions that needed answers. Why is Magic Johnson Park so big? What’s the history behind Fremont High School? What about Dorsey, Crenshaw, Verbum Dei? How did the 110 Freeway make its way though the region? Why does the region have so many gated alleys?

The questions kept building, and there weren’t immediate answers to many of them. So, I made more content. I doubted that I would come across more than 50 people who would be interested in this work. But I was wrong. Two years and more than 60 videos later, The South LA Recap has near 100,000 views and more than 1,750 active subscribers. This work matters and there needs to be more of it. I can’t do it all myself, but I can certainly be the start of the catalyst.

Was it easy? No. It’s not a great feeling when silly, non-productive videos get literally 10 times the view as the research project that took over 40 hours to make. And this is work that I also conduct at the expense of my own free time. There are several moments where I’d rather watch TV, or scroll on Reddit after work, but I know these videos need to get done. But I think, overall, this work has made me more diligent, and has been a constant beacon on meaningfulness in my life.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

I love when people ask my about the city. I always plug South LA because that’s where I’m from, and there’s a lot that’s underrated.

I would tell them to check out Coffee Del Mundo, an Afro-Latino-owned coffee shop that has coffee beans from around the world–and caffeinated drinks that are made for the lactose intolerant (like myself).

I would tell them to take a hike a Kenneth Hahn (which extends past the western edge of the region), or the stocker corridor trail. In the southeast area of the region, you can find the South LA Wetlands Park, the Augustus F. Hawkins Nature Park, and the newly-renovated Magic Johnson park. All of which have a special essence of serenity in the early morning.

For food, there are tons of choices. A few I can think on the top of my head is Delicious at the Dunbar–which has live jazz music on Sundays, Harold & Belle’s for its upscale creole flare, and Hotville Chicken (which unfortunately closed its brick-and-mortar location near the Crenshaw Mall, but lives on in the new Dulanville food truck).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

There are so many people to thank, but I’ll keep this list brief.

First, God for the opportunity to share stories I’ve been able to tell.

Second, my wife, Ariana, who has been a listening ear and supportive spouse. She’s also the reason I haven’t quit yet.

Third, my mom, who has been supportive of my work, and listening to me rattle away at my dreams.

And finally, the rest of my family for all of their support in this work.

Website: southlarecap.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southlarecap/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericmcraig/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthLARecap

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-vR2_DsLIAI4crN8s7K6g

Image Credits
No credits. The Photo of me sitting is from a viewing of my film on The Village Green: South LA’s Award Winning, Planned Community to current Village Green residents.