Watts Festival Plug Pulled Over Site, Debt

The annual Watts Summer Festival, which was begun the year after the 1965 Watts Riot as a memorial to the 34 lives lost in the violence, will not be held this year because Los Angeles County officials have refused to provide a site for the event, it was disclosed Wednesday.

Festival Director Tommy Jacquette said plans to return the festival to Will Rogers Park, the original site of the event, were canceled after county officials refused to allow the event to be held there.

Permission was denied because of complaints from area residents that the festival has been the scene of gang-related problems, said Morri Lubarsky, deputy director of the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department. He added that the county has also been unable to collect a $10,000 debt from festival organizers.

Lubarsky said permission to hold the festival at the park will not be granted “until the debt is paid and they can assure us and the community that the festival is desirable.”

However, Jacquette maintains that the event has ample community support and that the festival organizers do not owe the county money. He charged that county officials have “for several years attempted to wipe out the festival, because it serves as a reminder of the 1965 Watts revolt.”

In its early years, the festival drew thousands to the park, where black cultural exhibits and nationally known black musicians helped raise thousands of dollars for community programs.

However, financial troubles and dwindling attendance have plagued the festival in recent years. The event is funded entirely by private donations.

In 1982, the festival was shut down a day early by sheriff’s deputies because of the threat of violence from neighborhood gangs. A year later, after the organizers were unable to repay their financial debt to the county, the festival was moved to a vacant lot on Imperial Highway.

“Our goal is to get back to Will Rogers Park in 1986,” Jacquette said.

Meanwhile, a memorial service for those who died in the riot will be held Aug. 23 at the Westminster Community Center, 103rd Street and Wilmington Avenue, Jacquette said.