The racial tension in the predominantly Black Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts had been building for quite a while. For decades the community experienced poverty, police brutality, and inequality.
But then the tension boiled over.
The dismissal of Proposition 14, an act designed to reduce residential segregation, added another layer of unease to the neighborhood. That unease erupted on August 11, 1965, into a rebellion that THEY couldn't ignore.
Marquette Frye was accosted that same day by the police near his home. His neighbors gathered to watch – and as the crowd of witnesses grew, one officer pulled his firearm! Frightened, Frye's mother bravely intervened, leading to the arrest of the entire Frye family.
Their arrest was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Protests quickly exploded into racial unrest – a rebellion was underway. After six days, there were 34 deaths, $40 million in property damage, and a spotlight on the corrupt, unjust, and immoral treatment of our people in Watts.
Public officials attempted to blame Black residents. The L.A. police chief even compared them to “monkeys in a zoo.”
We know better than anyone that this uprising was the community's rallying stance against the deprivation and disregard our people have faced for generations. The only blame is white supremacy itself.