The history of the United States is a history of protests and riots due to the objective reasons associated with racism. Such activity has been and remains one of the levers that society uses to show its discontent, even if no long-term results are fixed. This paper compares the Watts riots of 1965 with the Los Angeles riots of 1992 to demonstrate the systemic problem of racism in the United States.
On August 11, 1965, an uprising began in Watts, a predominantly African-American neighborhood in Los Angeles. The reason for the protests was the detention of a 21-year-old black man Marquette Frye by a white officer. A law enforcement representative suspected him of driving while intoxicated. When the police tried to arrest Frye, the locals started throwing stones at the officers. The riot lasted six days, and over 30 thousand people took part in it. 34 people were killed, more than 1 thousand were injured, and about 3 thousand were arrested. Fifteen quarters were burned, and the damage amounted to $ 40 million. 15 thousand policemen and guardsmen were involved to suppress the unrest. The protests also covered other California cities such as Long Beach, San Bernardino, San Diego, Hollywood, Pasadena, as well as Chicago, Springfield, Cleveland, and Philadelphia.
Another case of large-scale unrest was the riots in Los Angeles, which began on April 29, 1992. The reason for the protests was the acquittal of three out of four police officers accused of beating a black man Rodney King. The incident itself took place on March 3, 1991, when law enforcement officials tried to detain King for speeding. At first, he refused to get out of the car and then began to resist. As a result, the police used stun guns and batons on him. King’s face was hurt, his right knee was broken, bruises and open wounds were recorded. The police took turns beating King with truncheons for one and a half minutes.
Thousands of black Americans took to the streets of Los Angeles demanding to punish those who were responsible for this kind of racial discrimination against a black man. The demonstration escalated into riots that spread to several dozen cities, including San Francisco. As a result, 55 people died and more than 2 thousand were injured. More than 1,000 buildings were burned down, and the total damage to the city amounted to $ 1.5 billion. The National Guard was involved to suppress the riot, and the repeated trial convicted the policemen.
When comparing the reviewed protests, it can be said that they were similar in many ways. Both riots were triggered by the detention of African-Americans by white traffic officers. Both black men resisted law enforcement, which resulted in their detention. In those two cases, the police officers hit the detainees brutally, using stun guns and batons. Protests started in Los Angeles, California, and then spread throughout the country. Both Marquette Frye and Rodney King faced discrimination from the Los Angeles Police Department. As a result, hundreds of thousands of African Americans started large-scale protests against police brutality, racism, and discrimination against the black population. They escalated into unrest in several major cities and caused a lot of damage, injuries, and deaths. Finally, the main cause of both the Watts riots of 1965 and the Los Angeles riots of 1992 was racism which is difficult to defeat and overcome without revolutionary upheavals.