Life in Western Heights

Re David Wallace’s Oct. 24 article on Charles Burnett’s production of “To Sleep With Anger,” starring Danny Glover: While I was happy to read about Glover’s feeling that the community played an important role in the film, I would like to correct some errors of perception.

The movie was filmed in a private home on 20th Street. The craftsman and Victorian houses on 20th and 21st streets, between Arlington and Western, are the settings for all sorts of films and commercials because they are some of the best-maintained and most interesting in the city.

Those who come into our racially mixed community often mistake it for being less secure and less family oriented than it is. While it is definitely an urban environment complete with all that implies, I do not believe that anyone who lives here would agree that gangs “normally prowl 20th Street.” I am afraid that any group of young men seen walking down a street, especially if they are black, are considered to be part of a “gang.”

My husband and I have spent a fair amount of time since moving to 20th Street defending our decision to live here. In the 18 months since we moved into our house, some bad things have happened in our area, mostly connected to drugs. Good things have happened also because the residents have rallied in an effort to rid our community of drug dealers and graffiti.

Statements like those in Wallace’s article, while colorful, paint an inaccurate picture of the life we lead in the Western Heights area.

SHERRY L. SNELL, Los Angeles