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{{Use American English|date=December 2020}}{{Use mdy dates|date=
{{Infobox settlement
<!--See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields that may be available-->
<!--See the Table at Infobox settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->
<!-- Basic info ---------------->| name = Watts<!-- at least 21 of the first two fields must be filled in -->
| official_name =
| native_name = <!-- if different from the English name -->
| other_name =
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| established_date = <!-- Area --------------------->
| unit_pref =
| area_footnotes = <ref name=MappingLAWatts>{{cite news |url=http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/watts/ |title=Mapping L.A.
| area_total_sq_mi = 2.0
| area_water_percent = <!-- Elevation -------------------------->
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===Founding===
[[File:1910_map_of_Los_Angeles,_California,_area_centered_on_the_city_of_Watts.png|thumb|Portion of southwest Los Angeles County, centered on Watts, with railroad lines radiating from it and the Pacific coast marked by the striations, 1910.]]
The area now known as Watts is situated on the 1843 [[Rancho La Tajauta]] Mexican land grant. As on all [[Ranchos of California|ranchos]], the principal vocation at that time was grazing and beef production.<ref name=MaryEllen>{{cite book |first=
There were household settlers in the area as early as 1882,<ref>[https://
===Naming===
In 1904, it was reported that Watts was named after Pasadena businessman Charles H. Watts, who was found dead by suicide in the [[Victorian Downtown Los Angeles#St. Elmo Hotel|St. Elmo Hotel, Los Angeles]], on August 23 of that year. The ''Los Angeles Times'' said: "Watts at one time conducted a [[livery stable]] on [[Main Street (Los Angeles)|North Main Street]] and another at [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] and was a man of considerable means. .
In 1919, Watts Mayor Z. A. Towne said that the settlement was named after a widow who lived on ten acres which was later occupied by a [[Pacific Electric]] [[power station|power house]]. She later moved to [[Arlington, California]], Towne said.<ref name=NameOf>[https://
In 1912 and 1913, a movement was afoot to change the name of Watts because, as one headline writer put it, the residents were tired of the "quips and jests" at the town's expense. One real-estate agent said that prospective clients backed out of a property inspection tour when they found out their streetcar ride would end up in Watts. The name "South Angeles" was proposed.<ref>[https://
===Subdivision===
A [[Subdivision (land)|subdivision]] with the name ''Watts'' was platted, possibly by the Golden State Realty Company, between 1903 and 1905, when the settlement had a population of about 150 people.<ref name=EnterprisingCityette>[https://
After 1903, Watts saw the establishment of a newspaper, a general merchandise store, a lumber yard, a [[grocery store]], a [[millinery]], [[dry goods]] and [[confectionery]] stores, a [[blacksmithery]] and [[bakeries]].<ref name=EnterprisingCityette/>
===Cityhood===
[[File:Watts-1912.jpg|thumb|Watts in 1912.]]
[[File:Watts,_California,_City_Hall_under_construction,1909.png|thumb|Watts City Hall under construction, 1909.]]
Watts became a city in 1907, after three petitions objecting to the proposed borders were presented to the [[Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors]]. Seven ranchers said that they had no intention of [[Subdivision (land)|subdividing]] and that all unimproved land should
The City of Watts was approved by voters of the district, and it became a [[municipality]] in May 1907, with J. F. Donahue, who was a driver for the [[Pabst Blue Ribbon|Blue Ribbon]] beer company, as [[mayor]] and Frederick J. Rorke as [[city clerk]]. There was, however, no money to run the city because it had become incorporated too late to levy and collect any taxes. A proposed [[business license]] fee raised so much objection that the Board of Trustees, or the city council, submitted to the people a [[straw vote]] (nonbinding) question about allowing liquor to be sold in the city. A majority of the 250 votes did agree that Watts should allow saloons, or [[Bar (establishment)|bar]]s, and that the municipality should raise money by taxing them.<ref name=SaloonTaxes>[https://
<blockquote>We have two retail saloons and one wholesale as a result, and an income that more than pays our running expenses. In fact, we have several hundred in the treasury. The voters, who admitted the saloons, looked upon it as a business proposition. While many of them are not really in favor of having them in our midst, the experience was adopted for giving us a working fund. Some of the surplus funds are being used to employ [[Civil engineer|engineers to establish street grades]], looking forward to improvements in our [[thoroughfares]] in the near future. As an instance of prosperity, there is not a vacant house in Watts, and it is impossible to find one to rent.<ref name=SaloonTaxes/></blockquote>
Watts was brought to nationwide attention in 1908 with the [[Broadway theatre|New York production]] of a [[musical comedy]] called "Lonesome Town," which was set in an imaginary place called Watts, California, in the year 1902. The endeavor, with music by J.A. Rayne and book by Judson D. Brusie, ran for 88 performances at the Circle Theatre, 1825 Broadway, from January 20 through April 24, 1908. It was produced by the vaudeville team of [[Kolb and Dill]]
In response to the raillery occasioned by the play, a "big advertising excursion" took place on Thursday, May 30, 1912, via a special train of three chartered electric railway cars. The route was scheduled over the [[Balloon Route]] by way of [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], the [[Sawtelle Veterans Home|Soldiers' Home]], [[Ocean Park, California|Ocean Park]], [[Venice, Los Angeles|Venice]], [[Redondo Beach, California|Redondo]], [[Gardena, California|Gardena]] and back to Watts. The object of the excursion was to call attention "to the fact that Watts has been 'born again,' and the name 'Lucky Watts' will be used as much as possible, the idea being to get new ideas into people's heads, so they will get away from the notion that there is any joke about what the people here believe is the most promising suburban community in the county." Some 25,000 pieces of advertising material were distributed.<ref>[https://
By 1910, Watts had a population of about 2,500, "well improved streets, a fire department, a weekly newspaper" (the ''Watts Advertiser''), and it was completing a $12,000 [[city hall]]. It had "the best of public schools, churches of the leading denominations, the principal [[fraternal orders]], a [[chamber of commerce]] and a [[Good Government Organizations (United States)|good government league]]." That year, business enterprises included the California Gold Recovery Company, which manufactured a machine used in mining districts to capture "[[flour gold]],"<ref name=WattsA/> which is fine gold floating on a liquid surface. In 1925, Watts had a pump-manufacturing plant, a [[machine shop]], two sash-and-door plants, and a pickle works.<ref name=LosAngelesCounty/> There was a steel plant, McClintic Marshal Company, which covered fifteen acres and employed 180 men. A new California Thorn [[Rope|Cordage]] factory was set to hire five hundred men. A new 34-room hotel was going up on West Main Street.<ref name=TownsEnjoying>[https://
===Joining Los Angeles===
[[File:Groundbreaking ceremony for Watts City Hall, 1936.jpg|thumb|Councilman [[Franklin Pierce Buyer|F. P. Buyer]] (far left) and Mayor [[Frank L. Shaw|Frank Shaw]] (second from right) at a groundbreaking ceremony at Watts City Hall, 1936.]]
In a special election on April 2, 1926, Watts residents decided to enter Los Angeles by a vote of 1,338 to 535. It was the heaviest vote ever in Watts, with 1,933 voters at the polls of the 2,513 registered. Thus 23,000 more people were added to Los Angeles when the decision was put into effect on June 1 of that year. Mayor L.A. Edwards of Watts led the fight for consolidation with Los Angeles. Opposed were the Watts Chamber of Commerce, the Farmers and Merchants Bank, the Taxpayers League, the [[Ku Klux Klan]] and the Watts Welfare League.<ref name=WattsVotes>[https://
Watts did not become predominantly black until the 1940s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-rothstein-segregated-housing-20170820-story.html|title=Why Los Angeles is still a segregated city after all these years|date= August 20, 2017|access-date=
| title = Race and the War on Poverty: From Watts to East L.A.
| last = Bauman
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Longstanding resentment by Los Angeles's 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]].{{r|AP 2020-08-10}} 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.
The damage from the riots was particularly severe along the stretch of 103rd Street between Compton and Wilmington Avenues. 103rd Street was the neighborhood's historic commercial center, consisting of a traditional main street lined with storefronts, easily accessible by foot from Watts Station. After suffering extensive arson in the riots, the ruined, burnt-out area was nicknamed "Charcoal Alley".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Scott |date=April 2, 2017
An urban renewal plan was drawn up by the redevelopment agency in 1966, with the aim of demolishing all structures between Century Boulevard and 104th Street and redeveloping the area into a modern shopping district.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Los Angeles Times 27 Feb 1966,
This project dramatically altered the urban fabric of Watts, replacing the densely-populated, walkable main street with large surface parking lots and wide roads carrying hazardous high speed traffic. Community activism in response these problems would eventually lead to a "green streets" project to improve pedestrian safety and environmental quality in the area, beginning in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=
Watts suffered further in the 1970s, as [[gang]]s 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's influential
{{Further|Watts Gang Task Force}}
Beginning in the 1980s, those African Americans who could leave Watts moved to other suburban locations in the [[Antelope Valley]], the [[Inland Empire (California)|Inland Empire]], [[the San Gabriel Valley]], [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] and the [[San Joaquin Valley]]. African Americans in Watts have also moved to Southern cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Birmingham, Memphis, San Antonio and Jackson. <ref>William H. Frey (May 2004). "[https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-new-great-migration-black-americans-return-to-the-south-1965-2000/ The New Great Migration: Black Americans' Return to the South, 1965
Neighborhood leaders have begun a strategy to overcome Watts's reputation as a violence-prone and impoverished area. Special promotion has been given to the museums and art galleries in the area surrounding [[Watts Towers]]. 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. Watts is one of several Los Angeles neighborhoods with a high concentration of convicted felons.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-76959815/ | archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121006015957/http://touch.latimes.com/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 6, 2012
In 2019, the Watts Towers were a gathering place along the
==Geography==
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}}
==
A total of 36,815 people lived in Watts's 2.12 square miles, according to the 2000 U.S.
[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanics]] made up 61.6% of the population, [[Black people|blacks]] 37.1%, [[non-Hispanic whites]] 0.5%, [[Asian people#United States|Asian]] 0.2%, and others 0.5%. Mexico and El Salvador were the most common places of birth for the 34% of the residents who were born abroad, an average percentage of foreign-born when compared with the city or county as a whole.<ref name=MappingLAWatts/>
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In 2000, there were 739 military veterans, or 3.6% of the population, low when compared to the rest of the city.<ref name=MappingLAWatts/>
==Government==
===Local government===▼
Watts Neighborhood Council 10221 Compton Avenue, Suite 106A, LA CA 90002.
[[Los Angeles Fire Department]]
[[Los Angeles County Fire Department]] Station 16<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fire.lacounty.gov/fire-station-listings/|title=Station 16}}</ref> (Watts) serves the community.
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[[Los Angeles Police Department]] operates the nearby Southeast Community Police Station.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lapdonline.org/southeast_community_police_station |title=Southeast Community Police Station |work=[[Los Angeles Police Department]] |access-date=May 4, 2009}}</ref>
===County, state
The [[Los Angeles County Department of Health Services]] operates the South Health Center in Watts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phn/docs/HealthCenter/southla.pdf |title=South Health Center |work=[[Los Angeles County Department of Health Services]] |access-date=March 18, 2010}}</ref>
The [[California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation]] operates the L.A. Watts Juvenile Parole Center.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Juvenile_Justice/Facility_Locations/Southern_Region/index.html |title=Southern Region Division of Juvenile Parole Operations |work=[[California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation]] |access-date=May 25, 2010}}</ref>
The [[United States Postal Service]] Augustus F. Hawkins Post Office is located at 10301 Compton Avenue.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input.action?locationTypeQ=all&address=90002&radius=20&locationType=po&locationID=1386656&locationName=AUGUSTUS+F+HAWKINS&address2=&address1=10301+COMPTON+AVE&city=LOS+ANGELES&state=CA&zip5=90002&zip4=9998&tollFree=800-ASK-USPS%26reg%3B%26nbsp%3B%28800-275-8777%29&fax=213-586-1482&tAddress=&tAddress1Ams=&tAddress2Ams=&tCityAms=&tStateAms=&tZipAms=&tCarrierRouteAms=&latitude=33.9431793&longitude=-118.24628&sWithin=20&&&&&&&&& |title=Post Office Location
==Education==
[[File:Child's drawing of California schoolroom and pupils in 1909.png|thumb|right|Classroom sketch by Edna Schye of Watts, 1909.]]
There was a school in Watts from an early date. In 1905 it was reported that "steps have already been taken to enlarge the present school building",<ref name=AtThe>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1905-04-23/ed-1/seq-17/ "At the Town of Watts," ''Los Angeles Herald,'' April 23, 1905,
Just 2.9% of Watts residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree, according to the 2000 census, which is considered a low figure for both the city and the county. The percentage of those residents with less than a high school diploma was high in comparison with the county at large.<ref name=MappingLAWatts/>
===Schools===
Schools within Watts are as follows:<ref name=ThomasGuide/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/watts/schools/ |title=Mapping L.A.: Watts Schools |work=Los Angeles Times |year=2015 |access-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref>
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* Alain Leroy Locke College Preparatory Academy, Green Dot Public Schools grades 9–12, 325 East 111th Street
* Compton Avenue Elementary School, 1515 East 104th Street
*
{{div col end}}
[[King Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science]] opened in bungalows of Jordan in 1982.<ref name=LandsbergSuccessp1>{{cite news |last=Landsberg |first=Mitchell |title=This King/Drew, a Magnet School, Is a Robust Success |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 27, 2005 |page=1 |url=
In May 2013, Wiegand Avenue Elementary School became the first school in California from which a [[school principal|principal]] was ordered to be removed in response to the state's 2010 "trigger law," which compels the dismissal of a school administrator on petition of a majority of parents. As a result of the pending loss of principal Irma Cobian, 21 of 22 teachers asked for transfer to other schools.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-weigand-20130525,0,2379800.story |first=Teresa |last=Watanabe |title=Popular Principal's Dismissal Leaves a South L.A. School Divided |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=May 24, 2013}}</ref>
===Public libraries===
A Watts public library was established in 1913, with Maud Walton as the first librarian and Bessie Hunt as the second.<ref name=WattsBriefsNovember3>[https://
==Community service==
===CicLAvia Tour===
On January 22, 2012, the popular cycling event called CicLAvia took place in south L.A.'s
===Watts Re-Imagined===
Watts Re:Imagined<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wattsreimagined.org|title=Watts Re:Imagined
==Parks and recreation==
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* Watts Senior Citizen Center, 1657 East Century Boulevard<ref name=ThomasGuide/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.laparks.org/dos/senior/facility/wattsSCC.htm |title=Watts Senior Citizen Center |work=City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |year=2014 |access-date=November 6, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125064844/http://www.laparks.org/dos/senior/facility/wattsSCC.htm |archive-date=January 25, 2016 }}</ref>
* 109th Street Recreation Center, 1464 East 109th Street. 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 football field, an indoor gymnasium with weights, an outdoor gymnasium without weights, a lighted soccer field, and lighted tennis courts.<ref name=ThomasGuide/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.laparks.org/dos/reccenter/facility/109thStreetRC.htm |title=109th Street Recreation Center |work=City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |year=2014 |access-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref> The 109th Street Pool is a seasonal outdoor unheated pool.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laparks.org/DOS/aquatic/facility/109thStreetPool.htm |title=109th Street Pool |work=City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |year=2015 |access-date=November 6, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019035117/http://www.laparks.org/DOS/aquatic/facility/109thStreetPool.htm |archive-date=October 19, 2015 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=
==Attractions==
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[[File:Watts Station, May 2008.jpg|thumb|Watts Station in 2008.]]
The Watts station was a train station built in 1904. It is a National Historic Landmark.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/travel/go-metro-and-go-everywhere-in-la |title=Watts Metro Adventure |work=DiscoverLosAngeles.com |access-date=January 9, 2023}}</ref>
===Watts Christmas Parade===
The Watts Christmas parade was created in 1964 by Edna Aliewine before the Watts riots. She 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. She died at the age of 90 in her home in Watts on July 5, 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url=
===Watts Summer Games===
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*''LA Youth'' was founded by Donna Myrow in 1988. The first edition of the publication sold 2,500 copies. Its current circulation is 120,000. ''LA Youth'' reaches approximately half a million readers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2007-07-24-voa6-66781387.html |title=Youth Newspaper Gives Los Angeles Teens a Voice |publisher=Voanews.com |date=October 27, 2009 |access-date=October 14, 2012}}</ref>
*''L.A. Watts Times Weekender Newspaper'' is an African American newspaper in both print form and online. It was started in 1965 with the motto: "The Voice of Our Community Speaking for Itself."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lawattstimes.com |title=Home |work=LA Watts Times |access-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref>
:In the summer of 2010 the Bakewell family was in negotiation to purchase the ''LA Watts Times''.<ref name="newamericamedia.org">{{cite web |first=Brandon I. |last=Brooks |url=http://newamericamedia.org/2010/06/bakewell-family-to-purchase-la-watts-times.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613020703/http://newamericamedia.org/2010/06/bakewell-family-to-purchase-la-watts-times.php |url-status=usurped |archive-date=June 13, 2010 |title=Bakewell Family to Purchase LA Watts Times |publisher=New America Media |date=June 10, 2010 |access-date=October 14, 2012}}</ref> 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,".<ref name="newamericamedia.org"/>
==In popular culture==
===Music===
Watts, along with several other California areas, is referenced in the [[hip-hop]] songs
For five years, the record label [[Top Dawg Entertainment]] has hosted a Christmas benefit concert in the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects. The free concert draws tens of thousands of attendees and includes performances from [[Top Dawg Entertainment|TDE]] artists [[SZA (singer)|SZA]], [[Kendrick Lamar]], and [[Jay Rock]], who was raised in the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jay-rock-mn0000934172/biography|title=Jay Rock {{!}} Biography & History|website=AllMusic|language=en-us|access-date=
===Television and film===
*The television series ''[[Sanford and Son]]'' was set in Watts, and the neighborhood was mentioned prominently by the characters.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0694184/ |title="Sanford and Son" Watts Side Story (TV Episode 1973) |work=IMDb |access-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0694100/ |title="Sanford and Son" Greatest Show in Watts (TV Episode 1976) |work=IMDb |access-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref>
* Roy Scheider and Daniel Stern crash a police helicopter into a construction site in Watts in the 1983 movie ''[[Blue Thunder]]''.
* The television series ''[[Two and a Half Men]]'' had an episode called "Weekend in Bangkok with Two Olympic Gymnasts",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0735190/ |title="Two and a Half Men" Weekend in Bangkok with Two Olympic Gymnasts - September 19, 2005 (TV Episode 2005) |date=
*A plot in the film ''[[The Big Lebowski]]'' involves the [[embezzlement]] of a million dollars from a foundation that ensures a college education for youngsters from Watts, the so-called Little Lebowski Urban Achievers.
* The film ''[[Menace II Society]]'' was filmed at the [[Jordan Downs]] public housing project in Watts.
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*The television series ''[[What's Happening!!]]'' and its sequel ''[[What's Happening Now!!]]'' was set in Watts, where the characters lived.
*The reality television series ''[[Pit Boss]]'' filmed a Season 1 episode in which [[Shorty Rossi]] returns to his community to do a fundraiser for the kids of the [[Nickerson Gardens]] public housing project in Watts.
* The episode of ''[[Quantum Leap (1989 TV series)|Quantum Leap]]'' "[[Quantum Leap (season 3)|Black on White on Fire]]" was set in Watts during the riots in 1965.
* Watts tower is a notable location in the movie Ricochet (1991) with Denzel Washington and John Lithgow.
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{{Refimprove|section|date=October 2023}}
{{div col start}}
* [[03 Greedo]], rapper<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/43q5zg/the-impossible-tale-of-03-greedo-the-future-of-west-coast-rap|title=The Impossible Tale of 03 Greedo, the Future of West Coast Rap|date=January 16, 2018
* [[P. P. Arnold]], singer<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/pp-arnold-2019-interview-2639691979.html?rebelltitem=7#rebelltitem7|author= John Wikane, Christian|title=
* [[Bambu (rapper)|Bambu]], rapper
* [[Arna Bontemps]], poet and novelist of the Harlem Renaissance
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* [[Nipsey Hussle]], Rapper, activist, and entrepreneur<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-watts-towers-nipsey-hussle-20190411-story.html|title=An altar of love blooms for Nipsey Hussle in the shadow of the Watts Towers|last=Wick|first=Julia|date=April 11, 2019|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412190946/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-watts-towers-nipsey-hussle-20190411-story.html|archive-date=April 12, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Tyrese Gibson]], R&B singer and actor
* [[Florence Griffith-Joyner]], Olympic track and field gold medalist; raised in the Jordan Downs projects<ref>{{cite news|title=A Community Remembers FloJo|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 23, 1998
* [["Sweet Alice" Harris]], community organizer; founder and executive director of local youth outreach group Parents of Watts<ref>{{cite web|last=Armstrong|first=Robin|title=Alice Harris|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/alice-harris|work=Contemporary Black Biography|publisher=[[Gale (Cengage)|Gale]]|year=2006|access-date=
*[[Etta James]], singer<ref>{{cite book |last=Gulla |first=Bob |title=Icons of R&B and Soul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R-DpxKQ67IkC&q=watts&pg=PA149 |access-date=November 6, 2015 |year=2008 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-34045-1 |page=149}}</ref>
*[[Glasses Malone]], rapper; born in Watts
*[[Imarjoe Miller]], professional boxer; born in Watts<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Chee/Chee112811.htm |title=Boxing Debut of Freddie Roach Protege |publisher=Dog House Boxing.com |date=November 28, 2011 |accessdate=November 30, 2011}}</ref>
*[[Charles Mingus]], jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist; raised largely in the Watts area<ref>{{cite book |title=Myself When I am Real: The Life and Music of Charles Mingus |first=Gene |last=Santoro |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1994 |isbn=0-19-509733-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/lccn_99046734 }}</ref>
*[[Walter Mosley]], novelist
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}}</ref>
* [[Ray Vasquez]] Singer, Trombonist, Actor, Jordan High School Watts
* [[JuJu Watkins]], basketball player<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.planetizen.com/news/2024/02/127613-representing-watts|title=Representing Watts|last=Lau|first=Clement|date=February 26, 2024|newspaper=[[Planetizen]]|access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref>
* [[Barry White]], R&B singer, actor, and voice artist<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hunt|first=Dennis|date=July 7, 1990 * [[The Watts Prophets]], hip-hop/jazz and poetry group
* [[The Sylvers]], family R&B/disco/pop group
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==Transportation==
Watts was situated at a point on a rail line that ran south from Los Angeles (eight miles to the north) to Long Beach and, according to real estate advertisements and publicity releases, was about {{frac|6|1|2}} minutes from the [[Pacific Electric Building|terminal at Sixth and Main Streets]]. In 1910 it was a transfer point for the Santa Ana, Long Beach and San Pedro lines of the [[Pacific Electric]] system.
Around 1905, a junction was installed for a line that ran to [[Santa Ana, California|Santa Ana]].<ref name=YouPay>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1905-08-20/ed-1/seq-5/ "You Pay the Landlord's Taxes," advertisement, ''Los Angeles Herald,'' August 20, 1905,
In February 1909 the railroad changed its schedule so that Watts travelers would have to take local trains rather than expresses, thereby increasing the length of the ride to Los Angeles from 15 minutes to one hour.<ref>[https://
In 1925, there were 800 freight and passenger trains stopping in Watts, and "a great number of wide boulevards" passed through the city.<ref name=TownsEnjoying/>
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==References==
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<ref name="AP 2020-08-10">{{Cite news|last=Melley|first=Brian|date=
}}
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