Aug 11, 2015

It’s the 50-year anniversary of the Watts riots, which broke out in the Los Angeles neighborhood on Aug. 11, 1965. Rioting raged for most of that week.

: In this Aug. 14, 1965 file photo, firefighters battle a blaze set in a shoe store that collapses in flames during rioting in the Watts district of Los Angeles. It began with a routine traffic stop 50 years ago this month, blossomed into a protest with the help of a rumor and escalated into the deadliest and most destructive riot Los Angeles had seen. The Watts riot broke out Aug. 11, 1965 and raged for most of a week. When the smoke cleared, 34 people were dead, more than a 1,000 were injured and some 600 buildings were damaged.(AP Photo, File)

: In this Aug. 12, 1965 file photo, demonstrators push against a police car after rioting erupted in the Watts district of Los Angeles. It began with a routine traffic stop 50 years ago this month, blossomed into a protest with the help of a rumor and escalated into the deadliest and most destructive riot Los Angeles had seen. The Watts riot broke out Aug. 11, 1965 and raged for most of a week. When the smoke cleared, 34 people were dead, more than a 1,000 were injured and some 600 buildings were damaged. (AP Photo, File)

: California Gov. Pat Brown is pictured with National Guardsmen at Will Rogers Memorial Park on Aug. 19, 1965. (Larry Sharkey/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

: In this August, 1965 file photo, police detain a man as buildings burn during rioting that swept the Watts district of Los Angeles. It began with a routine traffic stop 50 years ago this month, blossomed into a protest with the help of a rumor and escalated into the deadliest and most destructive riot Los Angeles had seen. The Watts riot broke out Aug. 11, 1965 and raged for most of a week. When the smoke cleared, 34 people were dead, more than a 1,000 were injured and some 600 buildings were damaged. (AP Photo, File)

: Los Angeles police officers stand guard as debris from a day of violence is cleared from the intersection of Avalon Boulevard and Imperial Highway, one of the worst trouble spots from which violence was spreading, on Aug. 13, 1965. (Ray Graham/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

: A California National Guardsman patrols 103rd Street near Compton Avenue in the Watts business district on Aug. 14, 1965. (Ray Graham/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

: A rifle-carrying National Guardsman escorts two women through the debris-littered streets of Watts, where rifle fire from snipers continued to harass black and white people alike in Los Angeles’ riot zone. The women were bound for Sunday church services on August 15, 1965. (AP Wirephoto.)

: Buildings burn along a street in the Watts section of Los Angeles as seen in this August 14, 1965, file photo which was taken during the Watts Riots. (AP Photo/File)

: This Aug. 14, 1965 file photo shows several burned-out structures after fires started by fires started rioters destroyed a business block in the Watts district of Los Angeles. It began with a routine traffic stop 50 years ago this month, blossomed into a protest with the help of a rumor and escalated into the deadliest and most destructive riot Los Angeles had seen. The Watts riot broke out Aug. 11, 1965 and raged for most of a week. When the smoke cleared, 34 people were dead, more than a 1,000 were injured and some 600 buildings were damaged. (AP Photo, File)

: In this Aug. 13, 1965 file photo, the burned-out hulk of an overturned automobile, foreground, and other burned cars at rear block the street at Imperial Highway and Avalon Boulevard during rioting in the Watts district of Los Angeles. It began with a routine traffic stop 50 years ago this month, blossomed into a protest with the help of a rumor and escalated into the deadliest and most destructive riot Los Angeles had seen. The Watts riot broke out Aug. 11, 1965 and raged for most of a week. When the smoke cleared, 34 people were dead, more than a 1,000 were injured and some 600 buildings were damaged. (AP Photo/Harold Filan, File)

: FILE – In this Aug. 13, 1965 file photo, men carry items from a looted store during the rioting that enveloped the Watts district of Los Angeles. It began with a routine traffic stop 50 years ago this month, blossomed into a protest with the help of a rumor and escalated into the deadliest and most destructive riot Los Angeles had seen. The Watts riot broke out Aug. 11, 1965 and raged for most of a week. When the smoke cleared, 34 people were dead, more than a 1,000 were injured and some 600 buildings were damaged. (AP Photo, File)

: Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker, left, faces Councilman Thomas Bradley as he testifies in front of a City Council committee on the sequence of events leading up to the Watts Riots on Sept. 13, 1965. On the table is a Molotov cocktail that Parker said was found during riot. (John Malmin/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

: A worker sets up for the inauguration of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015 in the Watts area of Los Angeles. The Watts riots broke out Aug. 11, 1965, almost 50 years ago and raged for most of a week. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

: Visitors walk past the Watts towers on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015 in the Watts area of Los Angeles. The Watts riots broke out Aug. 11, 1965, almost 50 years ago and raged for most of a week. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

From the Vault: Watts riots

Leave a Reply Cancel