The 1965-Watts Revolt grew out of a crowd who witnessed the perpetual dynamics between law enforcement and a black family in South Los Angeles. On August 11, 1965, Marquette Frye was driving with his brother, Ronald, who had just gotten home from the military. Marquette was pulled over for drunk driving at the intersection of Avalon and 116th Street. A crowd, who witnessed the stop, gathered and continued to witness how the incident escalated. Many media outlets and books offer summaries and portrayals of this incident and are easily accessible. We encourage you to learn more about the incident, Marquette and his family’s life after the six days of revolt. Think about how this impacted the family.
History took place on these very streets.
The curfew zone set in place included a 45 square mile radius, but the days that followed highlight the Charcoal Alley in Watts, a 2.5 square mile neighborhood. Why was the focus on Watts? What was going on at the time that led a community to engage in revolt? The answer can be found in the endless obstacles that stood in the way of a high quality of life for residents of Watts. At that period of time, many Watts community members lacked the basic means for human dignity and were left with under-performing schools, lack of access to quality health care, substandard housing, high unemployment rates, and constant violent encounters with law enforcement.
The revolt intensified on Friday, August 13, 1965 (exactly 50 years ago today) and about 2,300 National Guardsmen joined the local police; the number increased by August 14.
The incident with Marquette could be perceived in many ways, but at the time many used it to perpetuate an interpretation of Watts as a violent community. Of course the unjust living conditions of its residents was left out of this narrative.
As we continue to remember 1965 Watts, please take the time to reflect and learn more about U.S race relations, community development and advocacy, and policing over the last 50 years. Think about what we can learn from 1965 Watts and how we can move forward as a people advocating for basic human dignity and quality of life. Are we repeating history or have we progressed?
We also invite you to join the many events over the next half of the year and the rest of this week. Come to Watts and witness, first hand, our resilient life, culture, and identity!
Check the dates and times for special events in Watts this August.
employment is one of the top most difficult community priorities to address. The 2013 report found that Watts has a 13% unemployment rate, not considering those groups out of the workforce that represent a large population of Watts residents like the long-term unemployed and previously incarcerated. Participating in the workforce and opportunities to work are instrumental to community development. Important efforts in 2014 led to the discussion of local hiring. For example, Altamed recently opened a senior services center in Watts, the MLK community hospital is opening in Summer 2015, and various WorkSource programs offered employment fairs. These examples have started a significant conversation of employment opportunities and skills developments in the top hiring markets for the residents of Watts.
expectancy have not improved over the last 40 years and they have a 12-year lower life expectancy compared to more affluent neighborhoods in the City of LA. This means that important preventive community programs are necessary for an improved quality of life. Examples include the groundbreaking of Monitor Park (now known was Watts Serenity Park) as an example of community participation in transforming a vacant lot to a space where children can grow healthy and play. Additionally, the significant commitment of the East Side Riders brings over a dozen of bike riding and community events to Watts that address youth advocacy, healthy living, and important health topics like cancer awareness and community unity. Following this element of physical activity, Macedonia Baptist Church hosted the First Annual Watts Healthy 5k that included the participation of many residents, advocates, community leaders, elected officials, and partners. The event challenged the notion of a violent Watts when over 200 participants ran through the neighborhood promoting healthy and active living. Finally, the Annual Watts Turkey Trot included a massive collaborative and successful community event to promote health in the neighborhood.
There has been a massive mobilization of ensuring the cleanliness of the Watts community. Outside entities have largely contributed to the illegal dumping that continues to impact the livelihood of residents. The We Clean Watts group in partnership with Council District 15 and Beacon House have volunteered to actively improve neighborhood cleanliness. Their efforts in 2014 beautified Watts and made it safer for residents to move through their neighborhood. From clean alleys to sidewalks, this partnership is seeking ways to support its efforts. Additionally, street services identified streets that needed improvement as a larger citywide effort.
Community groups like the School Safety Collaborative, Watts Gang Task Force, and Community Safety Partnerships have actively contributed to enforcing and ensuring safety. Parents actively engage in the collaborative to support their child’s safety when walking to school. Residents attend meetings of the task force to hold law enforcement accountable and vice versa. Further, law enforcement has heard the requests of community members and established their CSP offices in Watts. These efforts serve to demonstrate that interpretations of Watts as a violent community are false and that residents are highly capable of ensuring their livelihood, when offered the opportunities.
Power Movement, youth demonstrated a desire to work in their community and disengage from “risky behaviors.” In 2014, programs from Operation Progress, Children’s Institute, and Watts Labor Community Action Committee re-ignited opportunities for youth. The Watts Gougars championed and many youth were certified in disaster preparedness. Mayor Garcetti recognized the value in opportunities and announced the additional job announcements for youth at the Yo!Watts. This opportunity would open 10,000 more jobs for youth in the Los Angeles area and Watts was highlighted. This is very relevant to the work of the WCS since we benefitted from such programs in engaging with local hired youth from the neighborhoods.
events highlight and respond to more than one neighborhood priority, making them effective programming for the future of Watts. As we continue to develop Watts Community Studio as a single entity, the team commits to an annual summer event and in this overview, we include the 2014-Watts Community Studio annual summer partnership. We look forward to announcing our 2015 efforts remembering the 1965-Watts Revolt.
Watts Community Studio 