The Watts Riots
The Watts riots of 1965 are notorious for representing a dark chapter in the history of the United States. Over a period of four days a large, unruly mob of black residents of South Central Los Angeles, enraged at the alleged treatment of a black motorist by the Caucasian policemen, conducted a campaign of violence, looting, burning and mayhem that eventually required the imposition of military rule to quell. What is interesting is that these riots happened when they did. The previous year had seen the landmark Civil Rights Act that represented a major step forwards in the enfranchisement of blacks in America, and was followed by the equally momentous Voting Rights Act of 1965. Yet, the rioters at the Watts district of Los Angeles destroyed with reckless abandon. For a while, many believed that the injustices of the past had spilled over resulting in the watershed event that were the Watts Riots, however, a close examination reveals that frustration over racist practices may not have been the cause of the riots. Something else was at play in Watts; something familiar to the 60s, that many today recognize as the freedom to protest uninhibited.
Sources:
http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/10.Watts.htm
http://crdl.usg.edu/events/watts_riots/?Welcome
http://negroartist.com/WATTS%20RIOTS/index.html
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