- 1 hour ago
Season 11 (1995-1996)
Original production funding provided by: Kellogg’s Cereal Company
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
PBS Viewers Like You
National Science Foundation
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
Original production funding provided by: Kellogg’s Cereal Company
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
PBS Viewers Like You
National Science Foundation
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Reading Rainbow
00:30I can be anything
00:35Take a look, it's in a book
00:40Reading Rainbow
00:42Reading Rainbow
01:00Hi, I'm in a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California called Watts.
01:12Now if you look around, you'll notice that Watts is a lot like your community.
01:17It has schools, churches, libraries, shops, and a whole lot of people who call this place home.
01:30There are many people who love this community and want to tell other folks about it.
01:52There's a group called the Watts Prophets who have written a song about the neighborhood.
01:56What's up y'all, what's up y'all, what's up y'all.
02:07Watts, a beautiful place with a whole lot of space.
02:13People, black, brown, white, red, and yellow, live together in good and bad spicy weather.
02:19Tacos, burritos, best in town can be found in Watts.
02:25Or Jordan's Cafe just might be one of your soul food stops.
02:31Handsome guys and beautiful girls struggle sometimes to stay alive, to go to school, to follow rules.
02:39Living in the projects next to the tracks, playing hopscotch and listening to hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop.
02:47Some don't have a lot, but progress never stops.
02:52I want to be a doctor.
02:53Progress never stops.
02:54I want to be a doctor.
02:55Progress never stops.
02:57And a whole lot of proud, great people come from Watts, Watts, Watts.
03:03People and colorful spaces, a rainbow of bright and beautiful faces.
03:09What's a place where progress never stops.
03:14Progress never stops.
03:16Progress never stops.
03:19What's up y'all, what's up y'all.
03:24What's up y'all.
03:26a community is a mosaic of different people and places well one of the most famous places here
03:46is the Watts Towers they really are one of the treasures of this community now if you look closely
03:56you can see the different bits and pieces of the lives of the people who lived here when the towers
04:02were being built you see pieces of cups and saucers there are bits of broken plates and pottery
04:12there are even kitchen and bathroom tiles but one man collected all of these pieces and put them
04:21together to create something magnificent his story is in here the wonderful Towers of Watts
04:29the wonderful Towers of Watts by Patricia Zalver
04:39pictures by Frenet Lesac read by Angela Bassett
04:48a lot of people thought old Sam was crazy old Sam's real name was Simon Rodia he had come from Italy as a
05:03young man and spoke with a thick accent he bought a little bungalow in Watts a poor neighborhood in Los
05:11Angeles he baked his bread in an outdoor oven he'd made just like the oven his mother had used in the
05:21old country sometimes he was friendly and smiled at people other times his thoughts seemed far away and
05:30he'd speak to no one old Sam worked as a laborer at Taylor's tile company every evening he got off the
05:43streetcar carrying a large burlap sack of broken colored tiles what's old Sam gonna do with those people said
05:54on weekends old Sam walked down to the vacant lot by the railroad tracks and collected things that
06:03people thought were better thrown away he brought home blue milk and magnesia bottles broken bits of
06:13colored pottery even pieces of broken mirrors sometimes he paid the neighborhood kids pennies or cookies to
06:23bring him empty green soda bottles and sacks of seashells what does old Sam want with all that junk
06:32people wondered old Sam spent most of his money on sacks of cement sand and steel people could hear him
06:45working in his backyard behind the high fence old Sam what's he up to they said
06:54one day to the neighbors amazement something strange and beautiful rose up over the fence in Sam's backyard it was a
07:09lacy web of steel covered with a skin of concrete in which old Sam had stuck glittering bits of tile
07:17glass mirrors pottery and seashells was old Sam building a fairy castle a church spire a tower in which he could climb to the sky
07:35sky everyone stared in wonder at old Sam's creation Sam went on working he worked all by himself for 33 years in all kinds of weather high off the ground with only a
07:55winter washers belt to keep him falling while he worked he listened to opera music his favorite singer was Enrico Caruso
08:09old Sam could be heard singing along with him
08:15the children of the neighborhood grew up and had their own children who watched old Sam's towers soaring into the sky
08:26old Sam was getting older too but he went on working just as before
08:34sometimes old Sam invited the neighborhood children into his yard
08:41inside the children found a magical city with little streets squares and fountains
08:52the walls were covered with heart shapes seashells colorful tiles and a golden bumblebee
09:02stuck in the cement were all sorts of curious objects which old Sam had collected over the years
09:11a teapot spout cowboy boots a horseshoe newspaper reporters heard about the towers and came to see them
09:23what do they mean they asked him old Sam just smiled
09:31where are your plans they said
09:34old Sam pointed to his head
09:37why did you do it they said
09:42I just felt like it
09:44old Sam said
09:45one day when Sam was 80 years old
09:50he gave the key to his house to a neighbor
09:53and went off to live near his relatives
09:55in another city it was the last time he saw the towers he never came back again
10:07watts is still a poor part of Los Angeles but no other place has the watts towers and every year people come from all over the world to marvel at old Sam's crazy dream
10:24people who visit the towers know what an interesting place watts can be but like any community watts has problems
10:39one big problem is that watts has gangs groups of kids that have fights and make trouble in the neighborhood
10:45I spoke with some school kids to find out what it's like to grow up in watts
10:49and to hear from them what they would change about their community if they could
10:54what do you guys think I mean you live here what's it like growing up here in watts
10:58Anna
10:59it's hard sometimes because of the gangs but it's also fun and nice place to be by our neighbors
11:06it's a good community because we have libraries parks
11:11I like the library because they there's tutors to help you read and stuff
11:16so what happened here
11:17I like the 103rd train station because it could take you around
11:23when I go to church it makes me think about the good things to watch
11:29one day my dad's friends came in there and and um asked us what area was this and my dad said watch and they said
11:39I don't like this place because there's a lot of shooting and stuff and my dad said
11:43I like it here and and I want to stay here I don't want to move from here
11:48mm-hmm
11:50Raul
11:50half of my neighborhood is by is is invaded by gangs
11:55so let's talk about gangs for a second what's the what are some of the bad things about gangs
12:00what are some of the things that that the the gangs do that are really negative in the community Marquis
12:04try to get the kids to do some drugs like they've been doing
12:07they try to get the kids to do sell them and stuff like that
12:10right
12:11I saw I saw this guy in the corner the same corner of mine
12:15there was a drive-by and they shot him right there
12:18right now there's there's some bloodstains right there
12:21still there
12:22bullet holes
12:22mm-hmm
12:23so this was recently
12:24yeah
12:24yeah so the gangs are really responsible for a lot of drugs in the neighborhood
12:29yeah
12:30and shootings
12:31yeah
12:32now tell me this why would anybody want to join a gang
12:36you see people be in a gang you want to be in a gang
12:38mm-hmm
12:39the temptation is when they see all the fancy stuff they have like the rings guns
12:46mm-hmm
12:47they they want it it just that gets on the getter right then
12:51mm-hmm
12:52they force you to do stuff and then when you do it you're gonna be in jail
12:56like what kind of stuff do they force you to do
12:58kill people rob
13:00mm-hmm
13:01john
13:02if you'd be saying no they'd be saying you uh like chicken or that and
13:06you're weak
13:07you're weak
13:08yeah
13:08mm-hmm
13:09marquee
13:09they like my father is in a gang and they want to be just like a father and they end up
13:15joining
13:15right
13:16like father like son
13:17is it hard for kids to stay out of gangs
13:19yes
13:20it's not hard why isn't it hard why isn't it hard
13:23my mom always tells me that don't get out of gangs because you're not gonna get your career
13:27because i always want to be a doctor
13:29mm-hmm
13:30i say that it is hard it is hard i see some parents that they're there is sometimes they're
13:35pushing on kids to be on gangs the way they treat them
13:39really parents push kids into being in gangs
13:42well not sometimes
13:43hang on hang on hang on what do you mean by that
13:45well some parents kind of like they don't when the kids want to talk to them but the parents
13:50they're just in another world they're on drugs or alcohol like this
13:54so the kids can't get any attention at home
13:57so they can't get it on gangs
13:59on the street
14:00mm-hmm
14:01so what can you do to resist that pressure
14:03you have to trust yourself
14:05don't like they talk to you come on let's go you wanna join our gang
14:10you have to believe you have to believe in yourself to not be with them
14:15that you're stronger than they are
14:17you have something you want to add to that john
14:19don't dress like one and don't walk like them and uh stay away from them
14:24how does gang violence make you feel
14:27the gangs it's like they're embarrassing the wats they're embarrassing the wats
14:31the community huh
14:32yeah the gangs just make it look bad
14:34so tell me if there was one thing that you could change about the neighborhood
14:38what would that be what would you change marquis
14:40i would change all the gangs cause if there's no gangs on the earth the world would just be so perfect
14:45mm-hmm it would just be perfect without any gangs
14:48the first reason that people think that wats is bad is the gangs
14:53but we have nice things like libraries the school um the martin luther king center
14:59so gangs aren't the only thing that this community should be known for are they
15:05what i like is that when people need help there are people there to help them
15:10mm-hmm cause there's a lot of people here that care about each other instead of people that just hate each other
15:15mm-hmm there's a lot of people that care
15:17so what are we gonna be when we grow up
15:19when we grow up
15:20a doctor because i like to help people
15:22i wanna be a um a rocket scientist
15:25i wanna be a cop so i can get the crime off the streets
15:28when i grow up i'm gonna buy me a pretty house and i'm gonna get me a husband
15:32gross
15:34dang
15:36for many kids living in a tough neighborhood means learning to choose the right path
15:42even when the temptation to do the wrong thing is all around you
15:45do you follow the crowd or do you follow your own inner voice that knows the difference between right and wrong
15:52every neighborhood has its own heroes and wats is no exception
15:56people who have faced the tough choices and made smart decisions
16:00i believe in freedom
16:05i wanna live with my sisters and my brothers in harmony
16:10my name is atoya howlett i'm 18 and i'm from wats
16:13we go
16:14i have 12 brothers and sisters and a baby of 12
16:19this is my elementary school pitcher
16:24this is my brother who's in college in cindy valley
16:29this is my brother who's a mechanic
16:33and this is me at senior prom this year
16:38people think that just because we from wats we are not high achievers but as you can see my family was well talented and gifted
16:53growing up for me
16:57growing up for me
16:59my mom
17:00she didn't pay me a lot of attention because she had to worry about my brother
17:05who was a game banger
17:08it was tough
17:10it was tough
17:11because i had to fend for myself
17:13i had to dress myself
17:14i had to cook my food for myself
17:16like i was 18 or 19
17:18but i was only seven or eight
17:20my brother
17:22he used to get shot up
17:24he used to be in horrible fights
17:26go to jail and stuff
17:28and i wanted to be like him because he got a lot of attention
17:35i started taking the wrong route
17:38i started slipping off the edge
17:41and i knew by going to the streets i felt that i would get much more attention and much more support
17:49when i was on the streets i used to run with a gang of girls
17:54and it seemed like they cared about what i did and they respected me for it even though it wasn't in a positive way
18:02we used to jump kids like take their school money and their lunches and everything
18:07we used to steal from the stores we used to write on walls
18:11we used to fight a lot like constantly constantly fighting
18:16and we used to just be horrible little kids
18:20one night i went to sleep and i had a dream
18:24and i saw all my friends and family
18:27around this box a pretty box with flowers and stuff
18:31and they opened it and it was a little black girl in there with a white dress on
18:36and i was looking like i know this person i know this person
18:39and so i finally you know came closer up on the person who was in this box
18:45and i realized that it was me
18:49that i was dead in a coffin with flowers and stuff around me
18:56with that dream
18:58and seeing what my brother was doing
19:01and seeing what i was doing
19:03caused me to change
19:05to step out of myself and say look
19:07this is you in a few more years
19:10if you don't change
19:12it was difficult for me to make the choice to change because i didn't know the difference between bad and good
19:31i just knew all bad stuff and i thought it was good stuff
19:37and when i became a high school student i found colors united
19:42colors united
19:47colors united is
19:49an organization for young kids
19:52who basically need support and self-esteem
19:55i believe in freedom
19:57they you know took me off the streets
20:00and there's people there that you know really care about you
20:03they made me feel wanted and special like you know i was somebody
20:07they brung stuff out of me
20:11my inner talents that i never thought i had
20:14they made me go inside of myself
20:18and realize what i have in there should be
20:21out in the open
20:23where everybody can see it
20:25with colors united i act, sing, dance, and perform around the country
20:33when i started hanging with colors united
20:35the girls that i hung with on the streets
20:37they didn't like it at all
20:39they told me that if i didn't stay with them
20:42i'd get beat up i'd get jumped and everything
20:46and i just still said
20:49i'm out of here
20:50i'm just leaving y'all
20:53sometimes
20:55i want to go back out there
20:57and be a part of it again
20:59but then
21:00i got my angel on my right side
21:02just letting me know
21:03that i shouldn't
21:04i should just keep going
21:11before when i was doing bad things
21:13i didn't care about nothing
21:15nobody but myself
21:17and the girls that i run with
21:19and now all i do is want to care about people
21:22to get a bicycle
21:26i'm helping other kids by taking the time to be there for them
21:30by listening to them
21:31taking them to the store
21:32walking with them around the corner
21:34anything
21:35to just put a smile on their face
21:37just let them know
21:39let them know
21:40that if i keep my head up
21:41they can keep their head up also
21:42yes i'm free
21:44cause we
21:46don't believe
21:48in me
21:50letoia howlett had to choose between right and wrong
21:57and it took a lot of courage to do what was right
22:01she had to make the decision herself
22:04then she looked around for people who could help her
22:06if you look around in your community
22:08you'll find people who can help you too
22:10now
22:12here are three books about communities
22:14and the people who live in them
22:16you might want to check them out at your neighborhood library
22:18but
22:19you don't have to take my word for it
22:22hello
22:23hello
22:24did you know you're part of a family
22:26that's bigger than your mother, father, brothers and sisters
22:29there are lots of people you care about and depend on
22:32here's a story about them
22:33it's called
22:34i got community
22:36a community is almost like a family
22:39it's filled with people you care about and count on
22:43there are neighbors to spend time with
22:46best friends to tell secrets to
22:49teachers to prepare you for life
22:52and lots more
22:54each one has a part in your community
22:57i'm marjorie and i'm an important part of my community
23:02neighbors and friends depends on me
23:05you're an important part of your community too
23:08so i know you really enjoy this book
23:10if you like to feel good and read poetry
23:14i've got the perfect book for you
23:16it's called night on neighborhood street
23:18each page has a poem about neighborhood street
23:22and the people who live there
23:25the poems describe what goes on at night
23:28goodnight juma is one of my favorites
23:31the little boy doesn't want to go to bed
23:33because he wants a hug
23:35each poem has a picture
23:37and the picture is beautifully illustrated
23:40this poem made me giggle
23:42it's called family time
23:44it's called that because the little girl cannot save family
23:48there's a poem about being at church
23:51and there's even a poem about a little boy named darnell
23:55i'm latisha and i really enjoyed this book
23:58i think i'm going to go share it with my neighbors
24:01you should check it out too
24:03hello i'm kenrick let me take you to a special place where exciting things happen
24:10it's here in this book the car washing street
24:14it's a hot hot day on this city block
24:18matthew wakes up to the sound of clink clink and splish splash
24:22it's car washing day
24:25the whole neighborhood gets together
24:27mr henry hamilton
24:29already has his car soaked up
24:32miss kennedy scrubs her pink cadillac
24:36matthew's family doesn't have a car
24:39but they like to hang around on this day
24:42cause you never know what's gonna happen
24:45uh oh
24:47it's a water fight
24:49everyone has a good time
24:52at the end of the day
24:54all the neighbors gather on matthew's stoop
24:58and they laugh and talk
25:00matthew likes living on the car washing street
25:04his neighbors are his friends
25:06why don't you check out the car washing street
25:30no matter what community you live in
25:32you have choices to make
25:34and all around you there are going to be people who will help you make the right choices
25:37you've got parents, teachers, family members, your neighbors
25:40but ultimately it's up to you
25:43how you live your life is your decision
25:46hey labor
25:47you might say
25:49the ball's in your court
25:51i'll see you next time
25:53alright we got another game?
25:55i can go anywhere
26:12i can go anywhere
26:17today's reading rainbow books are the wonderful towers of watts by patricia zelver
26:31pictures by franay the sack
26:34published by tambourine books a division of william morrow and company
26:38i got community
26:40i got community
26:41by melrose cooper
26:42pictures by dale gottlieb
26:44published by henry holton company
26:46night on neighborhood street
26:49by eloise greenfield
26:51illustrated by jan spivey gilchrist
26:53published by dial books for young readers
26:56a division of penguin books usa
26:58the car washing street
27:01by denise lewis patrick
27:02pictures by john ward
27:04published by tambourine books a division of william morrow and company