| Watts, Los Angeles, California |
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Information AboutWatts, Los Angeles, California |
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HISTORY A definitive story of this historic community is ''The City of Watts, California: 1907 to 1926'', by MaryEllen Bell Ray, published in 1985 by Rising Publications. The area now known as Watts began its modern history, after the arrival of Spanish-Mexican settlers, as part of the Rancho La Tajuata, which received its land grant in 1820. As on all ranchos, the principal vocation was grazing and beef production. With the influx of white Americans into Southern California in the 1870s, La Tajuata land was sold off and subdivided for smaller farms and homes. 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, named after Charles H. Watts, a landowner and civic leader. The city voted to annex itself to Los Angeles in 1926 . Along with more white Americans, Mexican and Mexican American railroad workers (" Traquero s") settled in the community. Blacks came in later (many of the men were Pullman car porters and other railroad workers); schoolroom photos from 1909 and 1911 show 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. Watts was predominantly black by 1940. During World War II , several large housing projects (including Nickerson Gardens , Jordan Downs , and Imperial Courts ) were built to house workers in war industries. These projects were nearly 100 percent black by the early 1960s as whites moved to new suburbs outside the central city. Longstanding resentment by Los Angeles' working-class black community over treatment by police and what was seen as 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, but the district was by far the area most damaged in the turmoil. Watts suffered further in the 1970s, with Gang s gaining in strength. Between 1989 and 2005, police reported more than 500 homicides in Watts, most of them gang-related. Three of Watts' most notorious gangs— Grape Street Watts Crips , Bounty Hunter Watts Bloods, and PJ Watts Crips —formed a cease-fire agreement after the 1992 Los Angeles Riots , a pact that may have been tied to a decrease in crime in the area between 1992 and 2000. Beginning in the 1970s, many African Americans left Watts for other parts of South Los Angeles, and later the Antelope Valley , the Inland Empire , The San Gabriel Valley Orange County , and the San Joaquin Valley ; they were largely replaced by immigrants of Ethiopian, Indian, Mexican and Central America n ancestry. This process accelerated after the 1992 riots. 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 around on 1765 East 107th St which is towards Imperial Highway towards surrounding suburb of Lynwood . This sculptural and architectural landmark has attracted many artists and professionals to the area. In July 2005, Watts returned to the news when a police SWAT team accidentally killed 18-month-old Suzy Peña who was held hostage by her father at a used-car lot in the area. Reaction in the community was divided between condemnation of Peña's father and calls for disciplinary action against the SWAT team, but the division in opinion was not strictly racial.Lee, Natasha and Richard Winston, "Shooting Cleaves Community," '' Los Angeles Times '' 16 July 2005: B1. 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 Blvd. on the north, Alameda Boulevard 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 Code s 90002 and 90059. DEMOGRAPHICS Watts covers . Unusually, the household income in the 1980 census for Watts was higher than it is today even with inflation. EMERGENCY SERVICES Fire service Los Angeles Fire Department Station 65 (Watts) serves the community. Police service Los Angeles Police Department operates the nearby Southeast Community Police Station {Link without Title} . 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 High School is a continuation school for students who cannot attend Jordan. Edwin Markham Middle School has sixth- through eighth-grade students [http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/parents/ca/pc/2226/]. Youth Opportunities High School, part of the , is also located in Watts. And 109th Street School {Link without Title} 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 kindergarten through eighth grade. Most of the families come from Latin America. Tuition is $145 a month. Many parents cannot pay on time, according to ''The Tidings'' online at {Link without Title} . Verbum Dei High School is also located in the Watts area. Public libraries Los Angeles Public Library operates the Alma Reaves Woods – Watts Branch. TRIVIA On the 1972 sit-com " Sanford And Son ," based in Watts, often made reference to problems in the district. In one episode, " Fred Sanford " ( Redd Foxx ) discusses this with a Los Angeles policeman. :Officer Hopkins: "When we're finished, people will be able to walk down the streets safely in Los Angeles." :Fred Sanford: "Yeah they can walk in Los Angeles, but they'll still be running in Watts." The television sitcom '') is importuned by his nephew to find a "Clucky's" fast-food restaurant. They end up at one in Watts, where Charlie is clearly in distress and tells Jake to stop talking and to "eat faster," after which he exchanges glances and a cautious word with the predominantly black and poor crowd around him. The movie Friday staring Chris Tucker and Ice Cube took place and was filmed in Watts. The district is also referenced in the song "West Coast Poplock" By Ronnie Hudson, which was later covered in the rap song California Love . Royal Crown review have a song on their 1999 album 'Walk On Fire' called Watts Local. SEE ALSO
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