Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Watch Wattstax, The Concert Documentary About Life In South Central In 1972
It's Martin Luther King Day weekend, and if you feel like watching something that sheds a little light on the history of the African American experience in L.A., try the amazing 1973 concert festival documentary Wattstax.
The film, directed by Mel Stuart (Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Welcome Back, Kotter), documents the 1972 Wattstax festival, a concert at the L.A. Coliseum featuring the stars of Memphis soul label Stax Records. Shot seven years after the catastrophic Watts Riots, the film also goes outside the festival grounds to take a rich look at the lives of young black people in South Central at the time, visiting clubs and churches, hanging out with ordinary folks on the street, and capturing Richard Pryor - the film's de facto emcee - bantering with friends about life, love and race in America. The movie is packed with no-holds-barred musical performances from Isaac Hayes (in a mind-blowing proto-Kanye performance of "Shaft"), The Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas and Luther Ingram, and a riveting invocation from a young Rev. Jesse Jackson. Stuart keeps a keen eye on the details, capturing style, fashion, culture, personalities and language, weaving together a lively tapestry of music and community.
A few years ago, we saw Stuart, who was white, give a talk about the film at the Hammer Museum: he recounted the difficulty of getting into black clubs to film segments, needing Pryor and his friends to convince bouncers that the director was "legit." But he also said he viewed the project as an important opportunity to include young black filmmakers, so he hired most of the crew from UCLA's African American film students club.
Support for LAist comes from
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance. -
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
Best of LAist