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The Watts Rebellion in August 1965 was a turning point in the civil rights movement, sparked by police brutality towards the primarily black Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles. The catalyst was a police officer stopping a car suspected of drunk driving, leading to six days of violent protests, looting, and arson. The rebellion resulted in millions of dollars in damage, 34 deaths, and over 1,000 injuries. It highlighted the volatile atmosphere in urban black neighborhoods and set the stage for the civil rights struggle.
In August 1965, the primarily black Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles experienced six days of violent protests and police brutality that came to be known as the Watts Rebellion. Watts’ rebellion marked a major turning point in the growing civil rights movement, adding fuel to the fire of radical activism and spurring serious discussion and debate in Los Angeles and beyond. This event in Los Angeles history continues to be a topic of discussion, especially when racially motivated events like the Rodney King beating make headlines.
The construction of the story of Watts’ rebellion is complex, thanks to the assortment of conflicting reports from the time about the riots, their cause, and those involved. Most historians generally agree that Watts’ Rebellion did not arise out of nowhere, however; by August 1965, the region was a tinderbox loaded to explode. In the previous months, the Watts community had witnessed a string of shootings, beatings, and other police events that they assumed were unprovoked and were starting to get very angry.
The catalyst for Watts’ rebellion was a California Highway Patrol officer’s decision to stop a car because he suspected the driver of being drunk. The scene attracted attention as the officer dealt with the car’s occupants, eventually refusing to let the driver’s brother take over and radioing for a tow truck to come and impound the car. The assembled crowd grew increasingly restless and angry until people finally started throwing rocks and other objects at the police, and the Watts Riots began.
Over the course of six days, the people of Watts stormed the streets, attacking white police officers and motorists, looting buildings, burning homes and businesses ablaze, and hampering security personnel such as nurses and firefighters. LAPD became increasingly violent in response, arresting thousands, opening fire on protesters, and mercilessly beating participants in the Watts Rebellion along with innocent bystanders. Hospitals were quickly choked with wounded, while the police ran out of space for their prisoners.
It took a deployment of the California National Guard to quell the Watts riots, which ended in millions of dollars in damage and 34 dead, along with more than 1,000 injured. The events of the Watts Rebellion sobered Californians and Americans in general, illustrating the extremely volatile atmosphere in urban black neighborhoods and setting the stage for the coming years of the civil rights struggle.
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