The City Council voted today to name the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Stocker Street as Don "Campbellock'" Campbell Square to honor the famed South-Central Los Angeles dancer, choreographer and hip-hop pioneer.
City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson said in his motion that Campbell invented a popular dance move called "locking" and named it the "Campbellock." In 1971, he joined the cast of "Soul Train," which was one of the first television shows that featured a primarily black cast.
"The show gained such popularity that Don and his fellow Soul Train dancers toured nationally," Harris-Dawson said in his motion. "The tour highlighted the dancers' popularity and convinced Don that dancers should be compensated for their work on `Soul Train.'"
In 1973, Campbell was removed from the program for attempting to organize a walkout in support of the dancers' rights, according to Harris-Dawson.
After he left the show, Campbell formed a group known as "The Lockers," which toured and performed with many well-known entertainers and was honored at the first hip-hop conference in 1999 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, according to the councilman's motion.
