Watts | |
---|---|
— Neighborhood of Los Angeles — | |
Watts' most famous landmark: Watts Towers created by Simon Rodia | |
|
|
|
|
Coordinates: 33°56′30″N 118°14′30″W / 33.94167°N 118.24167°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
County | County of Los Angeles |
City | City of Los Angeles |
Government | |
• City Council | Janice Hahn |
• State Assembly | Isadore Hall, III (D) |
• State Senate | Roderick Wright (D) |
• U.S. House | Laura Richardson (D) |
Area[1] | |
• Total | 2.0 sq mi (5 km2) |
Population (2000)[1] | |
• Total | 34,830 |
• Density | 17,350/sq mi (6,700/km2) |
ZIP Code | 90002 |
Area code(s) | 323 |
Watts is a mostly residential district in South Los Angeles, California.
Contents |
History
The area now known as Watts is located on the Rancho La Tajauta Mexican land grant. As on all ranchos, the principal vocation was grazing and beef production.[2]
With the influx of European American settlers into Southern California in the 1870s, La Tajuata land was sold off and subdivided for smaller farms and homes, including a 220-acre parcel purchased by Charles H. Watts in 1886 for alfalfa and livestock farming. In those days each Tajuata farm had an artesian well. The arrival of the railroad spurred the development of the area, and in 1907 Watts was incorporated as a separate city, taking its name from the first railroad station, Watts Station that had been built in 1904 on 10 acres of land donated by the Watts family. The city voted to annex itself to Los Angeles in 1926.[2]
Along with more European Americans, Mexican and Mexican American railroad workers ("traqueros") settled in the community. African-Americans came in later and many of the men were Pullman car porters and other railroad workers. Schoolroom photos from 1909 and 1911 show only two or three black faces among the 30 or so children pictured. By 1914, a black realtor, Charles C. Leake, was doing business in the area.[2]
Watts did not become predominantly black until the 1940s, as the Second Great Migration brought tens of thousands of migrants, mostly from Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas, who left segregated Southern states in search of better opportunities in California. During World War II, the city built several large housing projects (including Nickerson Gardens, Jordan Downs, and Imperial Courts) for the thousands of new workers in war industries. By the early 1960s, these projects had become nearly 100 percent black, as whites moved on to new suburbs outside the central city. As industrial jobs disappeared from the area, the projects housed many more poor families than they had traditionally.
Longstanding resentment by Los Angeles' working-class black community over discriminatory treatment by police and inadequate public services (especially schools and hospitals) exploded on August 11, 1965, into what were commonly known as the Watts Riots. The event that precipitated the disturbances, the arrest of a black youth by the California Highway Patrol on drunk-driving charges, actually occurred outside Watts. Mobs did the most property damage in Watts in the turmoil.
Watts suffered further in the 1970s, as gangs gained strength and raised the level of violence in the neighborhood. Between 1989 and 2005, police reported more than 500 homicides in Watts, most of them gang-related and tied to wars over control of the lucrative illicit market created by illegal drugs. Four of Watts' influential gangs— Watts Cirkle City Piru Bloods, Grape Street Watts Crips, Bounty Hunter Watts Bloods, and PJ Watts Crips—formed a Peace Treaty agreement in 1992 following just over 4 years of peace talks which were initiated in July 1988 with the support of the local community. The spokespersons for the groups taking part in the peace talks were Twilight and Daude.
Twilight and Daude photos from the 1988 Peace Talks press conference were printed on the front pages of regional and local newspapers and their interviews with TV news crews were on every news channel. In the months and years to follow Twilight would appear on National TV talk shows, radio talk shows and speak at several college and university campuses. Both Twilight and Twelve received death threats due to misinterpretation of newspaper articles by their peers, many of whom would join the peace movement in the months and years to come.
After four years of peace talks the Peace Treaty would be drafted and then agreed the day before the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The pact supported by a community based education initiatives and private investments from prominent members of the community e.g. Jim Brown continues to contribute to the decrease in gang related death in Watts and the greater South Los Angeles area since 1992. Key hallmarks of the pact continue to influence life in Watts to date, with colors and territory having little to do with gang-related crime.
Beginning in the 1980s, due to gentrification, those African Americans who could leave Watts moved to other parts of South Los Angeles and suburban locations in the Antelope Valley, the Inland Empire, The San Gabriel Valley, Orange County, and the San Joaquin Valley. This process, which some call black flight, was part of the increasing gentrification of Non-white inner-city communities implemented in the 1980s, in a journey typical of the larger American society. The black population in Watts has been replaced by successor migrants, primarily Hispanic immigrants of Mexican and Central American ancestry, as well as a smaller proportion of Ethiopian and Indian ancestry. This process of gentrification accelerated after the 1992 riots.[dubious ]
In addition, there has been a net migration of African Americans out of California to return to the South in a New Great Migration. From 1995–2000, California was a net loser of African-American residents. With new jobs, Southern states have attracted the most black college graduates since 1995.[3]
Neighborhood leaders have begun a strategy to overcome Watts' reputation as a violence-prone and impoverished area. Special promotion has been given to the museums and art galleries opened in the area surrounding Watts Towers at 1765 East 107th St, near the Imperial Highway and suburb of Lynwood. This sculptural and architectural landmark has attracted many artists and professionals to the area. I Build the Tower, a feature-length documentary film about the Watts Towers and their creator, Simon Rodia, provides a history of Watts from the 1920s to the present and a record of the activities of the Watts Towers Arts Center.
Geography and transportation
Watts is bordered by the cities of South Gate on the east and Lynwood on the southeast, and the unincorporated areas of Willowbrook on the south and Florence on the north.
The district's boundaries are Firestone Boulevard on the north, Alameda Street on the east, Imperial Highway on the south, and Central Avenue on the west. Principal thoroughfares through the district include Santa Ana Boulevard; Compton and Wilmington Avenues; and 108th Street. In addition to buses, mass transit is provided by the Blue and Green light rail lines of the Los Angeles Metro system, at the 103rd Street/Kenneth Hahn station on the Blue Line and the Imperial/Wilmington/Rosa Parks station where the Blue and Green lines meet.
Watts is split between ZIP Codes 90002 and 90059.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, total population in the district was 34,830. Ethnically, 60.8% of residents were Latino American, 38.0% African American, 0.6% European American, 0.1% Asian American, and 0.6% other races. The median household income stood $24,728, one of the lowest in the city of Los Angeles. Per capita income stood at $6,681; 49.7% of families and 49.1% of individuals were below the poverty line.[1]
Government and infrastructure
Local government
Watts Neighborhood Council 10221 Compton Avenue, Suite 106A, LA CA 90002 Phone: 323.564.0260
Los Angeles Fire Department Station 65 (Watts) serves the community.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 16 (Watts) serves the community.
Los Angeles Police Department operates the nearby Southeast Community Police Station.[4]
County, state, and federal representations
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the South Health Center in Watts.[5]
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation operates the L.A. Watts Juvenile Parole Center.[6]
The United States Postal Service Augustus F. Hawkins Post Office is located at 10301 Compton Avenue.[7] On January 24, 2000 the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate presented a bill to rename the Watts Finance Office as the Hawkins Post Office.[8]
Education
Primary and secondary education
Public schools
Watts is located in Los Angeles Unified School District's Local District 7.
Its local secondary public school is David Starr Jordan High School, which includes a math-science magnet component.[9] It has a student body of 76.5 percent Latinos, 23 percent African Americans and 5 percent other and, according to its website, is "located in a high crime area."[10] Its athletic teams are known as the Bulldogs. The adjacent Simon Rodia High School is a continuation school for students who cannot attend Jordan.[11] has sixth- through eighth-grade students.[12]
Alain Leroy Locke High School is a Title 1 co-educational charter high school located in Los Angeles, California, United States, and is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District/Green Dot Public Schools. It is named after Alain LeRoy Locke.
Locke is located in South Los Angeles near Watts. The school colors are Columbia blue and gold; their mascot is the saint.
Youth Opportunities High School, part of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps,[13] is also located in Watts, as is 109th Street School.[14]
Compton Avenue Elementary located at 1515 E. 104 Pl next to Markham Middle School educates students grades Pre-K-5th.
There are 4 more elementary schools 1 on Watts ave named John Ritter Elementary Pre-K-5th, Grape St. elementary, Florence Griffith-Joyner Elementary and Weigand Ave Elementary School.
There is also a fairly new public charter school named Jack H. Skirball Middle School located in Watts. It is located at Avalon and 115th St. After only one full year of operation, this school has become the highest performing middle school in the area, based on 2007–2008 API (Academic Performance Index) scores.[15] Currently, approximately 250 students attend the school in the sixth and seventh grades. Currently, there are no athletic teams, but the mascot of Jack H. Skirball Middle School is the Spartan. In addition, King/Drew Magnet High School on 120th. Costing over $62 million to build, resurrected in 1999, with Golden Eagles as their mascot.
YouthBuild Charter School of California is a charter high school that operates a site in Watts for 16-24 year old students seeking a high school diploma.
Private schools
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles operates many area Catholic schools.
San Miguel School provides a Catholic education for about 200 students from preschool through eighth grade. Most of the families come from Latin America. Many parents cannot pay on time, according to The Tidings online.[16] Verbum Dei High School is also located in the Watts area. Another Catholic Elementary school is St. Lawrence Brindisi which is also K Through 8
Public libraries
Los Angeles Public Library operates the Alma Reaves Woods – Watts Branch.[17]
Watts received its first library service in 1913 when temporary space was designated in the city hall for a library. In 1914 the library moved into a newly built Carnegie library. Los Angeles annexed Watts in 1926, so the library became the Watts Branch of the Los Angeles library system. In 1957 voters approved a library branch bond, and a 3,600 square feet (330 m2) Watts Branch opened in 1960. In 1991 the Los Angeles City Council approved a measure, backed by the Friends of the Watts Branch Library, the Fifteenth District Council Office, and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) of the City of Los Angeles, to build a new library as a part of the 1.3 acres (0.53 ha) Watts Civic Center. 1.3 million dollars from Proposition 1, the branch library facility bond issue of 1989, funded the construction of the new Watts library. On June 25, 1996 the city council voted to name the library after Alma Reaves Woods Watts, a woman in the community who encouraged reading and library usage. James C. Moore, AIA & Associates designed the current Watts Library, which opened on June 29, 1996.[18]
Community Service
CicLAvia Tour
Sunday January 22, 2012 the popular cycling event called CicLAvia took place in south L.A.'s Central-Alameda neighborhood to the watts towers. Volunteers were excited to hold an event close to the CicLAvia events in downtown L.A. The event was meant to encourage civic engagement. Through out the group of volunteers the diversity was large. Cyclists took photos for a "crowd-source" map made up of photos and recordings by the cyclists.[19]
Toys for Watts
For the fourth continuous year, brother Powe of called to Destiny Motorcycle, Ministries has hosted a toy drive for the kids in the community of Watts, California. This happened after a flood that devastated the local area in 2002, Powe said he was "awakened by the Lord" to get him and his biker friends together and help replace the toys that were lost in the flood. Since then,he has worked with "Sweet Alice" Harris hand in hand , shes a local activist and founder of parents of watts a charity that has been helping the community for more than 43 years.
Parks and recreation
Magic Johnson Park is a park in Watts, California. The basketball player, Magic Johnson, sponsored this park for people to enjoy themselves and have fun.
Athens Park is also located in Watts, California. There is a swimming pool area great for the summer time. People with teams can play baseball and basketball games.
Ted Watkins Park is located on Central Avenue and 103rd Street in the city of Watts. You can contact the park by calling (323) 357- 3032 or visiting 1335 East 103rd street. The park offers a place where young children could play that is outside of their home. Ted Watkins park gives kids the chance to get exercise and have lots of fun at the same time. Kids and people have the opportunity to go swimming in the pool in the summer. Skaters have the chance to skate in the Ted Watkins skatepark which is the only park in the city that attracts skateboarders in the community because of the quarter pipe ramp that was built in the park. The park has two baseball fields, a fenced soccer field, a handball court, and four tennis courts. With the remodelation of the park, the park also now has exercise equipmen ton the West side of the park, by Central.
The William Nickerson Recreation Center, operated by the City of Los Angeles, is located in Watts.[20] The center, which acts as a Los Angeles Police Department stop-in center, has a lighted baseball diamond, lighted outdoor basketball courts, unlighted indoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a community room, a lighted American football field, lighted handball courts, an indoor gymnasium with weights, a picnic table, and a lighted soccer (football) field.[21]
The 109th Street Recreation Center, a city facility, is located in Watts. The center, which acts as a Los Angeles Police Department stop-in center, has an auditorium, a lighted baseball diamond, lighted indoor and outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a lighted American football field, an indoor gymnasium with weights, an outdoor gymnasium without weights, a lighted soccer field, and lighted tennis courts.[22] The 109th Street Pool is a seasonal outdoor unheated located in Watts.[23] In June 2008 a group of young men attacked a manager there, forcing the city to close the pool for a short period of time. When it re-opened police were stationed there.[24] The pool, located between the Nickerson Gardens and Jordan Downs public housing complexes, also lied between two competing gangs in 2008.[25]
The 27-acre (11 ha) Ted Watkins Memorial Park, a county park, is within Florence-Graham in unincorporated Los Angeles County, adjacent to Watts.[26][27] The park was named after Ted Watkins, the founder of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC), in 1995. The park has lighted baseball/softball fields, a children's play area, a community recreation room, a computer lab, a gymnasium with a stage, picnic areas, a skateboard park, a soccer (football) field, a swimming pool, tennis courts, and toilets.[27]
Community Activities
- Local Swim Team
Anyone who is from LA County is allowed to join this team named Penguins. Here at LA County we do all sorts of fun strokes such as free style, breast stroke, back stroke and butterfly. The location where the Penguins currently swim at is Jessie Owens park pool. Jessie Owens is located on 9651 S. Western St. for anyone that wants to join. Swimming lessons are free for those who don't know how to swim. The Penguins practice everyday from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. This team works really hard, and they compete at many different locations like the 3rd and 4th of March the team Penguins went to compete at the Rose Bowl.
Attractions
The Watts Towers or Towers of Simon Rodia is a collection of 17 interconnected structures, two of which reach heights of over 99 feet (30 m). The Towers were built by Italian immigrant construction worker Sabato ("Sam" or "Simon") Rodia in his spare time over a period of 33 years, from 1921 to 1954. The work is an example of non-traditional vernacular architecture and American Naïve art.[28][29]
The Watts station was a train station built in 1904.It has been known as one of the few structures that were untouched by a huge fire along 103rd street stores during the 1965 Watts riots. When it was found in tact it was a symbol of hope and faith for the Watts community. Being one of the must original buildings that were first constructed in watts it was a popular stop for the Pacific Electric Railways “Red Car” that ran through Los Angeles CA to Long Beach CA for 50 years. It was also admitted to the NRHP (National Register of Historic Places) four months after the riots.
- Watts Christmas Parade
The Watts Christmas parade was created in 1964 by Edna Aliewine after the Watts riots. Edna put together a group of local volunteers to fundraise and create the parade. Ms. Aliewine started a drill team with neighborhood girls which marched in homemade Santa hats. Edna died at the age of 90 years old in her home in Watts, California on July 5, 2011 [30][31]
- Watts Summer Games
The L.A Watts Summer Games started in 1968 and was held at Locke High School, but it was originally called the Watts Olympics until it was moved to the Home Depot Center. The L.A Watts Summer Games are a 3day athletic tournament that brings together more than 5,000 students from 200 California schools. Almost 200,000 youth have competed in the games over the past 30 years. The Watts Summer Games had a scholarship program for the students that were dedicated to the community and has awarded more than $300,000 since its inception in 1992. [32][33]
Performing Arts
Dance
Epifani Dance Company was founded by Lakesha Buchanon in the city of Watts in 2002. Their motto is,"Where Dance Is More Than Movement".[34] Epifani Dance Company promotes a tight dance bond that separates an individual dancer from an extraordinary dancer. They compete in year-round SHARP International competitions. Epifani Dance Company have won several 1st place trophies in these SHARP International competitions.
Theater
Located on 107th St. the Watts Village Theater Company is a multicultural urban company whose mission is to "inspire its community with an appreciation of all cultures." The company was started in 1996 has been involved in helping the community with educational workshops ever since. They strive to make a more understanding Watts that harmoniously live together in a diverse community.[35]
Media
Film Shoots
Wassup Rockers
Wassup Rockers was filmed in Watts, Los Angeles.Parts of the film was filmed at Locke High School and Gompers Middle School. [36]
Newspaper
LA Youth was founded by Donna Myrow founded LA Youth in 1988.The first edition of the LA youth sold 2,500 copies, it's current circulation is 120,000. LA Youth reaches approximately half a million readers.[37]
L.A. Watts Times Weekender Newspaper is an African American newspaper in both print and online.L.A. Watts Times was started in 1965 with the motto:"The Voice of Our Community Speaking for Itself" [38]
In the summer of 2010 the Bakewell family were chosen to continue the great lagacy of the LA Watts Times. [39]. Danny Bakewell said, "I am proud and honored that Melanie chose me and my family to continue the great legacy of the Watts Times, its founders and her parents,". [40].
Notable residents
- Olympic track and field gold medalist Florence Griffith-Joyner (1959–1998) was raised in the Watts projects.[41]
- Community organizer "Sweet Alice" Harris (born 1934) and her activist group Parents of Watts are based in Watts.[42]
- R&B singer Tyrese Gibson (born 1978) was raised in Watts. In 2000, he chartered a foundation to build a community center in Watts.[43]
- Darden Restaurants Chairman and CEO Clarence Otis, Jr. was raised in Watts
- Rapper Jay Rock was born and raised in Watts, California in the city's Nickerson Gardens Projects.[44]
- American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist Charles Mingus was raised largely in the Watts area.
- Nobel laureate Glenn T. Seaborg.
- On TVOne's series "Unsung," it was revealed that the group The Sylvers grew up in Nickerson Gardens in Watts.
- South Central Skankers is a Ska group that originated from the Watts neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles. Since their creation they have released a self entitled LP, and taken the underground Ska world by storm. [45]
See also
- 1965 Watts Riot
- 1992 Los Angeles riots
- Watts Towers
- I Build the Tower
- Watts Station
- Los Angeles
- South Central Los Angeles
People (non residents)
- Robert C. Farrell (born 1936), journalist and member of the Los Angeles City Council, 1974–91, Watts newspaper publisher
References
- ^ a b c "Mapping L.A.". Los Angeles Times. http://projects.latimes.com/mapping-la/neighborhoods/neighborhood/watts/. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
- ^ a b c MaryEllen Bell Ray, The City of Watts, California: 1907 to 1926, Los Angeles: Rising Publications, 1985. A definitive early history.
- ^ William H. Frey, "The New Great Migration: Black Americans' Return to the South, 1965–2000", The Brookings Institution, May 2004, pp.1 and 4, accessed 19 Mar 2008
- ^ "Southeast Community Police Station." Los Angeles Police Department. Retrieved on May 4, 2009.
- ^ "South Health Center." Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Retrieved on March 18, 2010.
- ^ "Southern Region Division of Juvenile Parole Operations." California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Retrieved on May 25, 2010.
- ^ "Post Office Location - AUGUSTUS F. HAWKINS." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 7, 2008.
- ^ "H.R. 643 To redesignate the Federal building located at 10301 South Compton Avenue, in Los Angeles, California, and known as the Watts Finance Office, as the `Augustus F. Hawkins Post Office... (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate)." United States House of Representatives. Retrieved on December 7, 2008.
- ^ http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Jordan_HS/Magnet/magnet.htm
- ^ http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Jordan_HS/Jordan/WASC_report_partial_summary.htm
- ^ http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Markham_MS/ Edwin Markham Middle School
- ^ http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/parents/ca/pc/2226/
- ^ http://www.lacorps.org
- ^ http://notebook.lausd.net/portal/page?_pageid=33,54194&_dad=ptl&_schema=PTL_EP
- ^ http://skirballmiddle.org/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=74999&id=0&rn=7125352
- ^ http://www.the-tidings.com/2004/0305/famtime.htm the-tidings.com
- ^ "Alma Reaves Woods - Watts Branch Library." Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved on March 28, 2010.
- ^ "A Brief Watts Branch Library History." Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved on March 28, 2010.
- ^ Song, Jason (January 22, 2012). "Bicyclists tour Watts on a CicLAvia ride". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan/22/local/la-me-bicycle-map-20120123.
- ^ Roebuck, Karen. "Watts Service Remembers Youths Killed by Gangs." Los Angeles Times. August 10, 1987. Metro 2 Metro Desk Page 1. Retrieved on March 28, 2010. "William Nickerson Recreation Center in the Watts housing project."
- ^ "William Nickerson Recreation Center." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 28, 2010.
- ^ "109th Street Recreation Center." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 28, 2010.
- ^ "109th Street Pool." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 28, 2010.
- ^ "Troubled Watts pool to reopen today with police added to security force." Los Angeles Times. June 26, 2008. Retrieved on May 4, 2009.
- ^ Mitchell, John L. " Watts pool drowned in violence." Los Angeles Times. June 24, 2008. 1. Retrieved on March 28, 2010.
- ^ "Florence-Graham CDP, California." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on March 28, 2010.
- ^ a b "Ted Watkins Memorial Park." County of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 28, 2010.
- ^ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namednhlsum
; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text - ^ NHL Writeup[dead link]
- ^ Landsberg, Mitchell (December 5, 2010). "Thousands turn out for Watts/Willowbrook Christmas Parade". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/05/local/la-me-watts-parade-20101205.
- ^ http://www.lasentinel.net/Edna-Aliewine-a-giant-has-fallen.html
- ^ http://www.lasentinel.net/The-Los-Angeles-Watts-Summer-Games-are-back.html
- ^ http://ridley-thomas.lacounty.gov/index.php/watts-summer-games-2011/
- ^ http//www.epifanidancecompany.org/default.html
- ^ http://wattsvillagetheatercompany.org/page/wvtc-serving-its-community
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0413466/
- ^ http://www.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2007-07-24-voa6-66781387.html
- ^ www.lawattstimes.com
- ^ http://newamericamedia.org/2010/06/bakewell-family-to-purchase-la-watts-times.php
- ^ http://newamericamedia.org/2010/06/bakewell-family-to-purchase-la-watts-times.php
- ^ "A Community Remembers FloJo". Los Angeles Times: p. B-8. 1998-09-23. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/sep/23/local/me-25579. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
- ^ Armstrong, Robin (2006). "Alice Harris". Contemporary Black Biography. Gale. http://www.answers.com/topic/alice-harris. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
- ^ Fuoco, Christina (2006-06-23). "Tyrese Biography". Musician Biographies. http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003084/Tyrese.html. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- ^ Jeffries, David. "Jay Rock". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/artist/jay-rock/1063464#/artist/jay-rock/1063464.
- ^ http://www.last.fm/music/South+Central+Skankers
![]() |
Florence-Graham, California | Walnut Park, California |
|
||||
![]() |
|||||||
South Los Angeles | ![]() ![]() |
South Gate, California | |||||
![]() |
|||||||
Athens, California | Willowbrook, California | Lynwood, California |
Coordinates: 33°56′30″N 118°14′30″W / 33.94167°N 118.24167°W
|