Every Monday since 2006, about 100 people have joined a community call led by the Watts Gang Task Force. The purpose of the calls are to provide updates from public safety, law enforcement, nonprofits, public officials, the mayor's office, the councilman's office and more to ensure everyone in the community is aligned.
One member on that call every week was Eric Washington. Representing the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), Washington joined the calls to provide updates from HACLA on housing developments or another item.
"Eric heard people out. He listened to people," Marc Maye — Watts Rams General Manager, CEO of Project Blue, and friend of Washington who also joins these weekly meetings — told therams.com. "He always found solutions for people."
No matter the circumstance, Washington always saw the good in people and tried to understand them. Washington grew up in Compton and went to North Texas for his bachelor's degree and Grambling State to receive a Master of Public Administration. He returned to serve the community he grew up in.
"Eric saw the good in his community," Maye said. "Coming from Compton and Watts, there's such a negative connotation that's always displayed when you talk about these two cities, and Eric saw the opposite of that. Because of that, he wanted to make sure that the young people and the people from the community's stories were told that didn't represent this negative stuff. He tried to always get ahead of that, and I think that's what drove him and motivated and fueled him to continue to work in the community because he saw the good in people."
Washington dedicated his life to serving others in his community in Watts and Compton through HACLA and other community service. He served as the Community Engagement Manager for HACLA, among working with Maye as a part of his mentorship program. He was a staple of the community and brought change through working with HACLA and reforming youth
Washington tragically passed away on July 4, 2026, from a fatal shooting in Compton. A service was held in July to celebrate his life and remember him and all of his contributions to the community, where he was also recognized as the fourth Rams "pLAymaker" for 2026.
"There were over 1,000 people there," Maye said. "There were people outside that didn't even get into the church. ... Every public official you can think of was there, and I say that to say you don't see that at every funeral. That's how much it meant to the whole city of Los Angeles. The funeral was five hours long, you also don't see that. Everybody says, man, it was five hours, but it didn't even feel that long because everybody was so wrapped up in what was taking place."
Public officials, people of different religious backgrounds, young men who were mentored by Washington through the collective, and friends and family of Washington were all in attendance, and many spoke at the funeral of over 1,000 people. The service brought everyone together the same way Washington did for his community.
Since his passing there has been a petition calling for the creation of the Eric Washington Memorial Square in the Watts community. An initiative by Build Hope Inc., HACLA's nonprofit affiliate, will establish the Eric Washington Community Impact Award beginning this year which honors a "young person whose leadership, service, and commitment to community reflect the values Eric embodied every day," according to HACLA.
Even before his passing, Washington was a staple in the community and idolized by the youth and people in Compton and Watts with a mural painted in his neighborhood.
"There's a big mural in the neighborhood he grew up in because it showcases him as a Grambling State graduate so those young people can see that this is what's possible," Maye said. "It really shows what people thought about this man, even before he passed away. So to see it come together at his service, what you saw was individuals from every walk of life come together for one man."
Another way that the community came together for Washington was through the Los Angeles Rams. Washington was a Rams season ticket holder, and his friends — including Maye — joke that Washington was always so busy, but if you ever needed to find him, you could just go to SoFi Stadium on gameday and find him there.
"I don't know if those seats came with that, but every time he made the jumbo screen," Maye said, laughing. "Every game I went to, I'm like, 'okay, when is Eric gonna come up on the jumbo screen.' It never failed, it always happened. Those were moments that I cherished, knowing that if I didn't go to the game with him, I was gonna see him on the screen."
As a part of Washington's recognition as a Rams "pLAymaker," Maye presented Washington's mother, Tina Johnson, with a signed Aaron Donald jersey at the service, and a message was read from Rams President Kevin Demoff. Maye recognized Johnson as "the strongest woman I've ever met" and "she really let the community rally around her and be there for her son."
The crowd, understanding the importance of the Rams for Washington, erupted in reaction to the presentation of the jersey and the message from the Rams. Through life and memorial, Washington brought people together and has instilled a strong message for those that were impacted by him.
"Out of everybody that spoke about Eric, they went back to how Eric did things because he wanted to see the better in people. He wanted to help people," Maye said. "That's what everybody learned from Eric's service that day, is that people walked out of there asking, 'How can they be better for their community? What what are they doing for their community, and why?'"
