Watts Summer Festival returns this weekend

Since 1966, the Watts Summer Festival (WSF) has served as a historic and cultural cornerstone of Los Angeles’ Black community. This year promises to be no different as the beloved event returns this weekend, Aug. 10-11, to Ted Watkins Park.
The fun begins tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Club Watts at the park gymnasium with the Fouth Annual Poetry Jam competition. This event is hosted by Friends at Mafundi, a coalition formed to sustain the rich and diverse cultural history of Watts.
“The 2024 festival theme is ‘Watts Up?!!!,’ said Pamala Garrett, executive director of the WSF. “We invite you, your family and your village to come out, share your stories, see old friends and make some new ones.”
There’s fun galore in store this year. Attendees will enjoy an array of programs and activities including ongoing live music and performance featuring exciting local talent. There will be “Talking Drum” segments on current topics. You won’t want to miss the Sankofa Youth Village, the always popular marketplace, and vendors offering valuable and timely community resources.
A special WSF All-Star Basketball Game takes place on Aug. 10 at 9 a.m. in the gymnasium.
Also, the 2024 Super Hero Art Competition will invite youth from grade school through high school to present their best work. It will be judged by local artists from the Watts Towers Campus, including acclaimed editorial cartoonist David G. Brown. Look for these art pieces displayed in a special exhibit throughout the weekend.
Awards and special recognitions will be presented during the opening ceremonies at 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 10. Included will be Tommy Jacquette Legacy Torchbearer Award which pays tribute to community members and/or other organizations who have demonstrated through continued action a dedicated commitment to uplifting Watts. The Tommy Jacquette Spirit of Watts Award will pay tribute to a local youngster who has exhibited a fervent spirit of activism and “Watts-centric” pride. The WSF Trailblazer Award will recognize an individual from the Watts community who has made identifiable achievements that resulted in citywide, statewide, national and global impact.
The late Tommy Jacquette helped to found the WSF in 1965 following the Watts Riots in honor of the 34 people who lost their lives. He once said: “People keep calling it a ‘riot’, but we call it a ‘revolt’ because it had a legitimate purpose.” Jacquette died in 2009 at age 65. Jacquette played pivotal roles in helping to form the Watts Christmas Parade, the Watts Gang Task Force, the Watts Theatre, the Watts Chamber of Commerce as well as the Watts Summer Games. Among festival founders were Stan Sanders, Baltimore Scott, Wanda Tidwell, Inola Henry, Claude McDonald, Clarence Mackey, Sam Anderson, Charles Hill, Roger Brown and Billy Tidwell.
Early on, the groups involved in establishing and organizing the festival had differing styles and philosophies. Some were cultural nationalists. Some emphasized economic nationalism. Some focused on political power. They all supported the ideals of community empowerment and self-definition. Among the organizations were SLANT (Self-Leadership for All Nationalities Today), the Afro-American Cultural Association, the Sons of Watts Improvement Association and the Black Man’s Self-Image Development Institute.
Like today–but on a decidedly larger scale–the festival featured informational booths highlighting the services of various public and private anti-poverty agencies such as Westminster Neighborhood Association and the Watts Labor Community Community Action Committee. Musical acts included the US Organization boot dancers, Zulu dancers, even trumpeter Hugh Masekela (“Grazin’ in the Grass”) and the favorite arts and crafts booths which came to define the festival in attracting visitors from all over the southland.
The festival parade was an immediate hit, featuring a celebrity grand marshall and the winner of the Miss Watts beauty contest. Organizers selected R. Sargent Shriver, a driving force behind the War on Poverty, the Job Corps and the Peace Corps, as the first grand marshal in 1966. Muhammad Ali served as grand marshal in 1967. Other grand marshalls included Coretta Scott King, Myrlie Evers, Dr. Betty Shabass, Mervyn Dymally, Quincy Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and Rep. Maxine Waters.
The festival has attracted some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, including James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Isaac Hayes, Harmonica Fats, WAR, Richard Pryor, Nancy Wilson, Barry White, the Staples Singers, the Watts Prophets and Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.
In one memorable appearance in 1973, Rev. Jesse Jackson–donning an African dashiki–delivered his famous “I Am Somebody” speech to the youth. Despite the ups and down over the years, the Watts Summer Festival remains the most significant representation of Black cultural nationalism–and “Black Pride”–in Southern California.