​Craig Van Diesel

About the Riot:

• Started on August 11, 1965, when two whit policemen pulled over and arrested a black man anmed Marquette Frye, for suspicion of drinking and driving

• A crowd gathered near Avalon Boulevard to watch the arrest, tension grew as the crowd expected it was racially motivated abuse by the police

• The crowd erupted and violence began, this was the start of a six day riot by the residents of Watts in a 50-square-mile area in South Central Los Angelos

• The riot was started not just because of the abuse of the police, but also they were tired of economic and political isolation

• Looting stores, torching buildings, and beating whites as snipers shot at policemen lasted until the National Guard finally took control of the situation on August 16

• The riot left 34 dead, 1,032 injured, about 4,000 arrested, and $40 million worth of damage

• The riot was the worst urban riot in 20 years and forshadowed rebellion that was to come in the future