Watts, San Pedro, Wilmington and Harbor City are the southernmost communities in Los Angeles. Together they form the 15th Council District — the most isolated in the city.The latter three communities live by (in both senses) the city’s huge port. Watts, on the other hand, has symbolized what‘s wrong with Los Angeles ever since the 1965 riots.But there’s a longer history of resentment. The communities were once self-governing. We usually think of the secessional resentment of the San Fernando Valley. But the grudge here is 80 years old. While the Valley rages at City Hall, the 15th resents the city‘s omnipresent Harbor Department, whose looming cranes fill the skyline.
Source: Distant Port | L.A. Weekly