Chanel EvansHistory 301Professor NamalaFinal articleMay 5, 2014The Watts and Los Angeles RiotsOn the night of August 11, 1965, the Los Angeles County community of Watts went up in flames. A riot broke out and lasted until August 17. After residents witnessed a Los Angeles police officer use excessive force during the arrest of an African-American man. In addition to this man, the police also arrested his brother and his mother. Twenty-seven years later, in 1992, a riot known as both the Rodney King Riots and the Los Angeles Riots broke out. Both share the same circumstances as to why the riots started. Before each riot, there was some sort of tension between the police and the African-American population of Los Angeles. In both cases, African Americans still faced high unemployment rates, substandard housing, and inadequate schools. Add these three problems with heavy-handed police officers and a riot will occur. Most of the primary sources I will cite in this analysis of the Watts and Los Angeles riots are found in newspaper articles written around the time of these events. Testimonies from people living during the riots are also used. Tension between the LAPD and African American residents boiled over and helped spark the Watts Riots. The Marquette Frye traffic stop led the community to believe excessive force was used. Once residents of suburban Watts saw Marquette, his brother and his mother arrested, they went into fight mode. The riot grew so large that the California National Guard was called to active duty to help control the riots. Evans' five days of violence left 34 dead, 1,032 injured, nearly 4,000 arrested, and $40 million in property destroyed. In both cases, people experiencing poverty did not have many opportunities available to them. Even though the riots were twenty-seven years apart, they both shared the same problems. People living in both communities did not have many resources. During these twenty-seven years, the buildings in these neighborhoods were still dilapidated and many jobs were not available. The schools were still not at the same level as those in advantaged areas. What if African Americans got better jobs and better education? If they had received both, the riots would not have broken out. They would not have felt oppressed and would not have let anger grow inside. Once resentment began to grow, it was only a matter of time before a riot broke out. In both riots you can see how much of a heavy hand the LAPD was involved. African Americans did not receive the same justice as Caucasian residents of Los Angeles.