The Resurrection of Watts
1 media/15-1292.jpg 2021-04-05T20:24:03-07:00 Curtis Fletcher 3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e 38706 3 Ras Ammar NsoromaWatts (10950 South Central Avenue)
2002 plain 2021-05-18T15:33:54-07:00 USC Digital Library 2002 (Artist) Nsoroma, Ras Ammar 33.936488,-118.254218 Dunitz, Robin J. Curtis Fletcher 3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e
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The Resurrection of Watts
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Ras Ammar Nsoroma
Watts (10950 South Central Avenue)
2002 plain 2021-05-18T16:00:41-07:00 2002 33.936488,-118.254218 Ras Ammar Nsoroma’s mural, The Resurrection of Watts, draws on spiritual themes to convey the steps of transformation that the Watts community is taking to reconstruct itself.
Nsoroma’s mural is located at the Watts Labor Community Action Committee where it spans the entire length of the building, engaging the viewer with its massive size. The mural presents a narrative about Black community through the themes of destruction and reconstruction that we read from from left to right. On the left, the use of dark colors and the imagery of crows and ghost-like figures reveals how evil and darkness have contributed to the destruction of not only the Watts community, but also to African Americans at-large as Nsoroma depicts these figures being engulfed in flames at the center of the artwork. This large fire suggests the Watts Rebellion of 1965 and the 1992 Rodney King Riots, both incited by incidents of police brutality, and the latter of which prompted Nsoroma to make The Resurrection of Watts.
The fire in the middle serves as a divider between the duality of the two themes, but more importantly the fire functions as a symbol for reconstruction where the community of the past is being burned down to make way for and establish a different kind of future. The right side represents the reconstruction of the neighborhood to, growing from the past and creating a new identity for African Americans, to be cooperative amongst each other and build for the greater good of the community for many generations to come. The significance of reconstructing the community for the purpose of future generations is highlighted in the epicenter of the fire where babies are being held up by members of the community, as a symbol that they are the future.
The narrative and imagery within the mural function to establish a new identity for Watts and African Americans in the neighborhood through unity, because the community will learn to strive as one unit and uplift one another.
Written by Randy Medley Jr., c/o ‘24
