Exhibits
Coming soon
Tourists and Visitors come to The Center for exposure to our powerful and thought provoking exhibitions. They see those that played key roles in the struggle, come, and in some cases experience the conditions faced by these heroes. Here they are reminded of those freedoms gained, the costs for them and hopefully inspired to proactively go after those still to be pursued.
Permanent photographic exhibits include the Countdown to Eternity by Benedict Fernandez, The Panthers by Howard Bingham, and The Mother of Humanity, a bronze statue created by Nigel Binns.
Permanent murals include The Resurrection of Watts, by Ras Ammar Nsoroma (Sponsored by SPARC); Concrete Jungle, by Richard Franco and Toni Love; Space Station, by Richard, Arturo, and Danny Franco; Mound Bayou, by PeQue BrowHands, by Rondell; Malcom X and Muhammad Ali, by EnkOne; Central Avenue Jazz, Artist Unknown; Community Heroes (Untitled), Elliot Pinkney.
All exhibits can be found on the seven-acre cultural oasis in Watts built by WLCAC.
Tours are offered Tuesday through Friday at 10:00am and 2:00pm, and by appointment. Contact the Volunteer Center Director for reservations or more information at (323) 563-5639.
CIVIL RIGHTS TOUR
Thousands of visitors from around the world have come to engage in this unique, three-part experiential tour.
Part One: Experience a glimpse of the tragic history of the middle passage through the life-sized recreation of a slave hold.
Part Two: Walk down a Mississippi delta road, symbolizing the challenging Reconstruction Era following the abolition of slavery in the United States.
Part Three: Witness the human struggle of the Civil Rights movement with a dynamic multimedia exhibit of photographs, ephemera, sculpture, and installation highlighting human rights work led by American hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
With the guided interactive Civil Rights Tour, photographic environmental justice exhibit Watts: Then and Now, and a rich perspective on community development and leadership, visitors can experience a glimpse into a world where the focus is on understanding how past events continue to shape and influence our present and future.
HEALING
Through each compassionate, painstakingly tailored tour, visitors are allowed to safely face themselves, and helped to see how they can influence our present and future. By teaching the truth about the uplifting, empowering, yet violent and dark history of America, particularly as relates to communities like Watts and the people of color who live in them, we can help every visitor learn something new about themselves, their neighbors and their nation.
Welcome to Watts!
THE MOTHER OF HUMANITY
AMERICANA: THE HALL OF SHAME
The Hall of Shame: The Hall of Shame includes items from the WLCAC produced exhibit, Americana, an exhibit challenging the unauthorized commoditization of the Black Image.
The Hall of Shame presents overwhelming documentation of a transformation that took place; when black people were no longer traded or exchanged for goods and services, the black image became the object of trade or exchange.
By highlighting the breadth of this exploitation, and the involuntary participation of blacks, The Hall of Shame exposes the use of these images as an extension of slavery.
Today, endorsements and advertising are a lucrative business, and thousands of celebrities, actors, and models receive payment for the use of their image to promote or sell a product. Americana asks, “Why should there be any question about compensating blacks, for slave labor, or for slave endorsements?”
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