Today marks the 55th anniversary of the Watts Rebellion, also known as the Watts riots, which lasted from August 11-16, 1965.
It all started with a traffic stop. latimes.com/local/lanow/la…
It all started with a traffic stop. latimes.com/local/lanow/la…
On Aug. 11, 1965, California Highway Patrol Officer Lee Minikus pulled over 21-year-old Marquette Frye near 116th Street and Avalon Boulevard. Frye failed sobriety tests as a crowd of began to gather nearby. latimes.com/local/lanow/la… 
The violence that first night was small in scale, but it led county officials to call a meeting in Athens Park the next day. Many, called for calm, but one man’s claim that rioters planned to attack white neighborhoods was widely broadcast by television and radio outlets.
Aug. 12, 1965: The scene at Imperial Highway and Avalon Boulevard in the early morning just before violence broke out. (Don Cormier / Los Angeles Times)
latimes.com/local/lanow/la…
latimes.com/local/lanow/la…
Why were tensions so high in the first place?
Anger and distrust between Watts’ residents, the police and city officials had been simmering for years. Witnesses to the arrest of the Fryes said they had heard officers using racial slurs as they clashed with residents.
Anger and distrust between Watts’ residents, the police and city officials had been simmering for years. Witnesses to the arrest of the Fryes said they had heard officers using racial slurs as they clashed with residents.
Many said the arrests highlighted the type of police misconduct they considered rampant in the area.
“My husband and I saw 10 cops beating one man. My husband told the officers, ‘You’ve got him handcuffed,’ ” one woman, who said she witnessed the Fryes’ arrest, told The Times.
“My husband and I saw 10 cops beating one man. My husband told the officers, ‘You’ve got him handcuffed,’ ” one woman, who said she witnessed the Fryes’ arrest, told The Times.
LAPD Chief William H. Parker rejected the suggestion that his department’s failure to address allegations of police brutality had helped fuel the bedlam, claiming the riots would not have happened had police not been handling black residents with “kid gloves.”
In the end, 34 people died and 1,032 injured. The vast majority of those who were killed or hurt were civilians. Of those who died in the riots, 23 were killed by LAPD officers or National Guardsmen. Almost 3,500 people were arrested latimes.com/local/lanow/la…
This is how The Times covered the Watts Rebellion, or Watts riots.
documents.latimes.com/1965-watts-rio…
documents.latimes.com/1965-watts-rio…
