What was watts

Two policemen and one firefighter were among the casualties, and 26 deaths, mostly the result of Los Angeles Police Department or National Guard actions, were deemed justifiable homicides.

A commission was set-up to study the causes of the riot, after which several community-improvement suggestions were made that would improve schools, employment, housing, healthcare and relations with the police department. There was little follow-up, but a new era of DIY local activism blossomed in Watts, including reformed street gang members who joined with the Black Panther Party to rebuild and monitor police excesses.

The riot was not an isolated event, with multiple urban riots across the country taking place in and prior to the Watts explosion. In , there was a three-day riot in Rochester, NY, leaving four dead; in the New York City neighborhoods of Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant, a six-day riot involving as many as 4, people following the shooting of a young Black man; in Philadelphia, a three-day riot following the arrest of a Black couple who had gotten into a scuffle with police; and a three-day riot in Chicago when a Black woman attempting to shoplift alcohol was attacked by the store owner and crowds later gathered to protest.

Some blamed the Watts riots on outsider agitators, but most understood it as the result of continuing dissatisfaction about living conditions and opportunities, and long-standing tension between police and residents. In , the arrest of a Black male in Griffith Park for riding a merry-go-round without a ticket resulted in crowds throwing rocks and bottles at police.

In , the police raided a Nation of Islam mosque and killed an unarmed man, resulting in massive protests. Over the two years leading up to the riot, 65 Black residents were shot by police, 27 of them in the back and 25 of them unarmed.

During that same period, there were demonstrations against the living conditions there. Demonstrators push against a police car after rioting erupted in a crowd of 1, in the Los Angeles area of Watts, triggered by the arrest of a Black person on charges of drunken driving.

Credit: AP Photo. Nationwide, the violence would not end. The following year saw fire bombings, riots, and killing in the same city. And the Detroit Riots began two years later, resulting in 43 deaths. The Los Angeles riots following the Rodney King beating trial of four police officers led to the deaths of 63 people and were a grim reminder that many issues of racism remained unresolved.

The Eisenhower Foundation. Watts Riots: Traffic stop was the spark that ignited days of destruction in L. Los Angeles Times. Watts: Remember what they built, not what they burned. Document Research Requests. The Institute cannot give permission to use or reproduce any of the writings, statements, or images of Martin Luther King, Jr. Skip to content Skip to navigation. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.

Search form Search. Back to the King Encyclopedia. The area now known as Watts began its modern history after the arrival of Spanish-Mexican settlers, as part of the Rancho La Tajuata, which received its land grant in As on all ranchos, the principle vocation was livestock grazing and beef production. In those days each Tajuata farm had an artesian well. The arrival of the railroad spurred the development of the area and in Watts was incorporated as a separate city; named after the first railroad station built in the town, Watts Station.

The city voted to annex itself to Los Angeles in Blacks came in later and many of the men were Pullman car porters and other railroad workers. Although the population has changed, many of the issues of poverty, alienation, and discrimination still plague the community today.

Gerald Horne. Violence in the City—an End or a Beginning? Do you find this information helpful? A small donation would help us keep this accessible to all. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone!