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Podcasts Take Two
Today's Watts is mostly Latino. What do they remember of the 1965 riots?
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Aug 11, 2015
Listen • 15:44
Today's Watts is mostly Latino. What do they remember of the 1965 riots?
In 1965, most of Watts was black. Today, it's mostly Latino. How do they relate to events from 1965 when they may not have any connection to them?
Fred Cox, right, and his friend Shondell Spiegel look at the Watts Towers in the Watts section of Los Angeles, Wednesday, March 31, 2010. A Los Angeles official says two centers that are part of the famed landmark Watts Tower complex will remain under city control. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Fred Cox, right, and his friend Shondell Spiegel look at the Watts Towers in the Watts section of Los Angeles, Wednesday, March 31, 2010. A Los Angeles official says two centers that are part of the famed landmark Watts Tower complex will remain under city control. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Jae C. Hong/AP
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In 1965, most of Watts was black. Today, it's mostly Latino. How do they relate to events from 1965 when they may not have any connection to them?

The Watts of today is vastly different than what the streets looked like in 1965.

According to the 1970 Census, if you put 10 neighbors in a room, eight of them would be black and just one would have been Latino.

Fast-forward to today and those numbers have almost flipped: now, seven of those neighbors are Latino and only two are black.

It's a dramatic shift for Watts, but do those residents relate to any of that history from the unrest in 1965?

Joining Take Two are Arturo Ybarra, founder of the advocacy group The Watts/Century Latino Organization, and Oscar Menjivar, born and raised in Watts and also the founder of the program Teens Exploring Technology.