The Watts Riot

Term Paper # 104498

African-American Studies > Racism
History > U.S. Post-Modern 1965-Present

The Watts Riot

This paper looks at the racial violence in Los Angeles in the 1960s.

1,454 words () | 2 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the events and occurrences that led up to the Watts riot. This includes the urban decline in the inner city, racially biased highway construction, preferential suburban housing developments for whites and racial segregation in communities and schools. The paper shows how the Watts riot was an inevitable outcome of this racial, social, and economic divide that plagued Los Angeles and the rest of the country in the 1960s.

Outline:
Introduction
The Watts Riot
Urban Decline
Highway Construction
Suburban Development
Racial Segregation
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"In the 1960s, civil unrest was anything but uncommon, from the women's movement to the Chicano movement, to the "Black power" uprising, each group claiming rights that they were entitled to, but had never sought so vigorously before. In Los Angeles, California, this civil awareness eventually escalated in the form of a riot that would send shockwaves across the country, the Watts Riot of 1965.
"The events and occurrences leading up to the riot are many including such things as urban decline in the inner city, racially biased highway construction, preferential suburban housing developments for whites, and racial segregation in communities and schools."

Sample of Sources Used:

Avila, Eric. Popular Culture in the Age of White flight: Fear and Fantasy in Suburban Los Angeles. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.
Sanchez, George J. Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.