The Compton Communicative Arts Academy was one expression of a vibrant community arts movement that developed in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities during the late 1960s. In L.A., this movement included Self-Help Graphics and the mural program that became SPARC, among other groups. The community arts movement opposed the elite and Eurocentric biases of the City’s dominant artistic institutions and the nearly wholesale exclusion of artists of color from exhibits, galleries, and museums. Participants believed that all people need and deserve expressive outlets, that art can be a powerful force for positive social change, and that the arts are vital to the building of strong communities.