When they talk about Watts they talk about being on the bottom
But an old man told me whatever is on the bottom
is holding whatever's on the top up
When they say South Central
you can't help but talk about the Jordan Downs
because these are three of the biggest housing developments
here in Watts
Here you have what they call subsidized housing
Underdeveloped community
It's the projects
These were temporary houses
for the ones that returned from World War II
and then they opened them up for low income people to live here
They really shouldn't even be here now
The Jordan Downs is like the best projects made
We are one big family
I love everybody. To death
You've got to understand with miseducation
and economic strangulation-- It breeds violence
At one time that was true
You know there was a lot of stuff that went on down here
1965 we had the Watts riots
and in '92 a lot of people got hurt
where they burnt half of the city
but right now as the mindsets are being changed
you can see that it's peaceful
Well, back here it's like some are older parents
that watched us grow from babies
As you see, these are the grandkids
of the ones that watched us grow up from babies.
What's up, little man?
[inaudible]
It really ain't too much violence no more
Everybody is [inaudible]
and most of the people there
and it's like all kids around here
Nobody to retaliate on
They talking about remodeling the projects
Bringing in a mixture of working people
people that's still on subsidized housing income
They're going to start developing in the 21 acres over here
and then from there they're going to move people
out of certain sections over to the new developments
That way nobody will be displaced
You're going to have new houses
You're going to have a new senior citizens' building
We'd be able to have the same thinks as other middle class communities have
right here in the Jordan Downs
That's the great part about it, right here in the Jordan Downs
This is the most [inaudible] thing
that's come to Watts in years
We've got a chance for our own young men
that live here, raise their family here
to have a job right here
so what we're trying to do is get our guys ready for the workforce
to make sure that they can go out and make a decent living
where they can take care of their kids
That's the biggest problem right here
If a lot of these kids, these young men had jobs
there wouldn't be nothing, they wouldn't have to rob
or go in people's houses or whatever they're doing
They wouldn't have to do none of that
We're just trying to change the mindset of the people
so we can grab a stake into this country
and grab a hold of some of the stuff that we dream about
Do you understand?
You know what? I think some people will be sad
to see some of these buildings go
just for so many good times that they had
and then some of them are going to be glad to see these buildings go
because of the bad times that they had
but I think they're going to really understand
that they're moving into something where they can really be like
"Hey, this is my home now.
I'm living in a new redevelopment Jordan Downs housing project"
You know?
I hope that the brothers will wake up
and we stop the killing, we stop the violence
You know, get along with each other, get along with other people
and 50 years from now, that's what I would like to see
People living in harmony