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In February 2020, Friends At Mafundi (F.A.M.) was formed by a coalition of community stakeholders after learning of the City of Los Angeles’ Request for Proposal (RFP). The RFP authorizes a plan to fast-track the demolition of the historic Watts Happening Cultural Center/Mafundi building (also known as the Robert B. Pitts Westminster Neighborhood Center) at 1827/1845 East 103rd Street in Watts. The building and its parking lot have been slated to be replaced with an apartment/housing complex.

F.A.M.’s goals are to have the Mafundi building designated as a Historic-Cultural Monument, oversee its restoration, and revive its cultural programming, guided by the Watts Prophets Community Education Association.

Designed by well-known Los Angeles architects Arthur Silvers and Robert Kennard, and built in 1970, the building became the home of community and creative organizations like the I Have A Dream Foundation, Friends Outside, the Watts Credit Union, Budd Schulberg’s Watts Writers Workshop (from which emerged the poet/performance artists the Watts Prophets), and the Mafundi Institute. Leading actors, dancers and musicians who taught classes at the Mafundi Institute include Roger E. Mosley, Eartha Kitt, Roscoe Lee Browne, Marge Champion, Marie Bryant, Paula Kelly, Buddy Collette, and many more.

Elliott Pinkney’s powerful mural on the building’s exterior symbolizes the spirit of a resilient community. This once-thriving teaching, training and cultural arts center served as a gathering place for Watts artists, poets, writers, actors, musicians, and filmmakers. The building continues to anchor the spirit and identity of Watts through programs and events hosted by non-profit organizations such as the Watts Village Theater Company. Currently, it is the home of the Watts Coffee House and the Los Angeles Education Corps, a partner of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps. 

F.A.M. asks that the building and adjacent parking lot not be razed, that the architectural integrity of the building be kept intact with its continuing enterprises, and that historic arts programs, inclusive of the Watts Writers Workshop, continue to serve as a beacon of community initiative and hope. Transit-oriented community development incentives and opportunity zones need not erase the vital history, traditions, and unique cultural heritage of the Watts community. Despite the heightened awareness of social inequality in communities of color, the City appears to be introducing new buildings under the guise of increasing housing stock with little regard for protecting and strengthening the unique cultural assets of Watts.

In efforts to rush the Mafundi building through an expedited RFP process, as authored by the Economic and Workforce Development Department, the City:

●       has not supported African-American community stakeholders’ efforts and ongoing involvement at the Mafundi building before ceding control of this resource to an outside entity;

●       deprived the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, which had managed the building since the early 2000’s, of its 20-year lease – despite a 2006 City Council motion accepting its management;

●       has breached City Government Code Title 5, Division 2, Part 1, Chapter 9, Section 54950, by asking only a few community groups to represent the entire Watts community in initial planning and by-passing our elected neighborhood council; 

●       has further limited the transparency of the process by not scheduling a pre-bid conference;

●       and, thus, the City’s RFP has completely ignored the essence of the Mayor’s Executive Directive #27 regarding racial equity and affirmative action.

F.A.M. asks that you support the designation of the Watts Happening Cultural Center/Mafundi building as a Historic-Cultural Monument in support of the community’s legacy of art and culture.  Further, we ask for your leadership in guiding the Economic and Workforce Development Department to:

●       prioritize proposals for the historic Mafundi building that have an adaptive reuse plan;

●       prioritize proposals that enhance the cultural heritage of the Black community and encourage uses that are aligned with the immediate needs and desires of the community;

●       provide assurance that the chosen developer will engage with the entire Watts community during the pre-construction and final design phase. 

As you reflect on the value of community history, know that Watts is a vibrant intergenerational neighborhood anchored in arts and culture, and has a unique spirit and identity that can neither be recreated nor ignored.