This Day in History: 11 August 2020
11 August 1965
55 years ago, today, the Watts riots began, in Watts, Los Angeles, a predominantly black neighbourhood. Racial tension had reached a breaking point after two white policemen scuffled with a black motorist suspected of drunken driving. Near the corner of Avalon Boulevard and 116th street, a crowd of spectators gathered to watch the arrest and soon grew angry and dissatisfied at what they believed to be yet another incident of racially motivated abuse carried out by the police. An uprising soon began, prompted by residents of Watts, who were irritated after suffering years of economic and political isolation.
The rioters eventually spread across a 50-square-mile area of South-Central Los Angeles, looting stores, torching buildings and beating whites as snipers fired at police and firefighters. Finally, on August 16, with the assistance of thousands of National Guardsmen, order was restored. The five days of violence resulted in the deaths of 34 people, as well as the injuries of 1,032, the arrests of nearly 4,000, and the destruction of $40 million worth of property. The Watts riot foreshadowed the occurrence of the many rebellions in the following years, such as the 1967 Detroit riots, the Newark riots, and other outbreaks of violence.
Want to find out more about the Watts riots? Click here for more information, or click here for a video with rare footage from the rebellion.
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