Riots in Watts -1965

Nationalguard
Nartional Guard in Watts

Five days of riots broke out on August 11, 1965 in the Watts section of Los Angeles. The riots caused 34 deaths and injuries to 1,000 people. Over 4,000 individuals were arrested. Property damage was estimated at $40 million. The riots in Watts were the most severe of a series of riots that took place in many American cities in the mid-1960s.

 


The arrest of Marquette Frye, a 21-year-old black man, sparked five days of riots in Watts. The riots followed allegations that Frye had been subject to police brutality. During the course of the riots, there were 34 deaths, 1,000 injuries, and 4,000 arrests. The riots were squelched by 20,000 national guardsmen who were called in by California Governor Brown.

The riots in Watts were the worst of a series of disturbances that broke out in many inner cities in the summer of 1965, and in the following summers during the mid sixties.

.