Ten Days in Watts to Premier on PBS Feb. 12

Watts is usually only remembered as an exclamation point punctuating the end of several days of rage following the brutalization of a black resident 55 years ago. Or simply a symbol of broken promises and neglect.

What should be talked about more is the fact that Watts is a food desert — a community with too few quality food sources.

But a PBS documentary, Ten Days in Watts, set to air this Sunday, Feb. 12 aims to change the narrative. 

The documentary was produced by actor and Emmy® -nominated filmmaker Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon a Time, Murder in the First).

Sbarge not only offers a glimpse of what went into finishing MudTown Farms, but he also introduces viewers to the community members working to make the community a better place to live.

The four-part series, centers on Tim Watkins, president of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee, as he and other community members work to finish the park. it’s a place they envision as an open space for community gardens, orchards, and reading areas – and ultimately a tool to enrich the lives of Watts’ residents.

Now, nearly a year later, the park is fully operational. It distributes 17,000 pounds of produce to the community every two weeks from a network of partners in accordance with a $4.9 million dollar grant from California, and hosts classes and volunteer opportunities.

Though much of the produce comes from partners, a lot of it also comes from the farm itself.

Watkins said the farm had planted grapevines and other edible plants along a fenceline so that when the farm is closed people can still walk up to the gate or to the fence and pick fruit.

It’s also become a spot for people in the community to rest and enjoy the outdoors.

“There’s exercising equipment; there are other places where you just sit down and enjoy the peace and the quiet,” Watkins said. “And everybody that visits the farm remarks the same thing: That in the midst of what’s characterized as a violent place, there’s the most remarkable peace – great solace,” he said. “You can seek respite there without being hurried along.”

MudTown farms has plans for future growth, with Watkins saying it has secured funding already to build a culinary arts facility.

“It’s really a state-of-the-art kitchen that will teach people how to plan, grow, gather, and prepare food that can be stored,” he said, adding that the point of the kitchen will be to help the community grow enough food to feed itself.

Watkins said MudTown is also exploring the idea of potentially giving people in the community chickens for the purpose of helping to reduce community waste.

“And at a time when a dozen eggs cost $7 in L.A., a family can live off those chickens,” he said.

As Watkins continues his work at MudTown farms and other community projects on behalf of WLCAC, he said it’s not about filling his father’s shoes.

“This has been about extending the work that he’s done,” Watkins said. “And he taught us damn well long before there was a Nike. He told us, ‘if something needs to be done, just do it.’”

Watkins noted that some call “Mudtown Farms,” visionary, which kind of gives him credit, but he says he doesn’t need it.

“I look at Mudtown Farms as a place with Limitless potential where the possibilities are endless,” Watkins said. “When you look at it that way, what can we do there every week? We have hundreds of volunteers that come because they [believe] there’s a spirituality to the place– a place some would characterize as hyper-violent. But Mudtown Farms is a center of solace.”

Episodes of 10 DAYS IN WATTS will premiere as follows (subject to change):
“Legacy” – Sun., Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. on KCET and Thurs., Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal

MudTown Farms, an urban garden twelve years in the making, is ten days from opening in the Los Angeles community of Watts. Tim Watkins, President of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC), shares his vision of a family’s dedication to their beloved community. The WLCAC, a community center with a powerful legacy, has done much for this underserved community for almost 60 years with the mission “To improve the lives of the citizens of Watts.”

“We Are Taught to Survive” – Sun., Feb. 12 at 8:30 p.m. on KCET and Thurs., Feb. 23 at 8:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal

A week from opening, the farm faces challenges, deadlines, and cost overruns, but Watkins and the team press on. We also meet several community leaders, including Janine Watkins, speaking about their varied experiences growing up in the Watts community, the influence of Black History, the need for Latino voices and a common thread shared between them embodied by the acronym for Watts: “We Are Taught To Survive.”

“Watts Pride” – Sun., Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. on KCET and Thurs., Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal

With four days until the opening of MudTown, the next generation of community leaders are introduced as the effects of environmental racism are explored. Perspectives are shared from local residents and community leaders that include Michael Krikorian, a renowned journalist who has covered Watts for decades and Johanna Rodriguez, a Watts resident on the Mayor’s task force. The episode also features poet Oshea Luga at the Watts Coffee House, a renowned arts community center in the heart of Watts.

“A Garden Grows in Watts” – Sun., Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. on KCET and Thurs., Feb. 23 at 9:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal MudTown Farms opens after twelve years and the community comes out to celebrate. A new day begins for Tim Watkins and his family, and the torch is passed from father to son. The community provides feedback on the urban garden’s opening, including perspectives from a pastor, an 18-year-old double amputee headed to college, and a crisis intervention specialist.