Ninety-year-old longtime community activist Sweet Alice Harris was recognized Monday with an intersection in Watts named in her honor. This video was broadcast for the NBC4 News at 3 p.m. Monday, June 17, 2024.
Ninety-year-old longtime community activist Sweet Alice Harris was recognized Monday with an intersection in Watts named in her honor.
A Monday morning ceremony was held at the intersection of Lou Dillon Avenue and Santa Ana Boulevard North, which was designated as “Sweet Alice Square.”
“It was simply beautiful,” Harris said after the “Sweet Alice Square” sign was unveiled at the ceremony. “It really is giving me the strength to continue.”
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The intersection is located near Harris’ social services organization, Parents of Watts Working with Youths and Adults.
Harris was born in Gasden, Alabama on Dec. 29, 1933, and raised there. She moved to Detroit, where she operated her own beauty shop, before moving to Los Angeles in the late 1950s.
Harris founded Parents of Watts in 1967. The organization started out of her home and aimed to alleviate tensions in her neighborhood marred by poverty and marginalization after the 1965 Watts riots.
Parents of Watts has provided supplies and shelters for the homeless, prepared children for education, offered career support, hosted counseling sessions on substance abuse, and worked to protect youth from social turmoil and gun violence.
Affectionately known as “Sweet Alice,” Harris has worked with elected officials and served as a liaison between parents and their children’s schools.
"Her remarkable journey and contributions have left an indelible mark on the history of Watts and will always stand as a testament to the resilience and strength of the human spirit," McOsker said in the motion.
