Elliott Pinkney was part of a group of artists in Compton who established the Communicative Arts Academy (CAA) in 1969. Pinkney is an accomplished printmaker, muralist, and sculptor. His art can be found throughout the Los Angeles and Compton area along the Blue, Orange, Silver, and Yellow Metro lines and at 92nd Street Elementary School in Watts.
 

He created the mural visible outside of the Watts Happening Cultural Center. The mural titled "Mafundi" was painted by Pinkney in 1972 as the Mafundi Institute’s logo. The mural depicts a ripple of artisans in silhouette with a young Black man in the center, painted with the colors of the Pan-African flag (red, green, and black). There is a door leading to the exterior at the first story’s north façade. The Mafundi mural was restored by Pinkney in 1997 to the mural we see today.