Residents of one-time murder capital defy label's stigma.

Byline: Thaai Walker

SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Murder capital. That was what East Palo Alto was named in 1992, when the city counted more homicides per capita than any other in the nation. In a community of only 24,000 people, 39 lost their lives.

The number of killings in such a small city drew nationwide attention. But even though murders in East Palo Alto never again approached that level _ last year saw six _ the people who live here have found that the notoriety persists, no matter how much progress is made.

As other cities named Murder Capital have learned, the burden of reputation often forces leaders to put as much work into raising the self-esteem of their communities as in lowering the crime rate.

After 1992, East Palo Alto officials closed down houses used as drug dens. But they also towed old cars, sponsored neighborhood cleanups and stepped in to build a shopping center when no developer would. They wanted to show that good things could happen in a place painted as perilous.

Today, new businesses and families are moving in. There is more tax revenue, more hope.

But East Palo Altans know they are often defined by the bad that happened there. And so, they say, the lessons from 1992 are these: You find paths around the stigma. You go on despite it. And…