How did the Watts riots and rebellion express the frustration many African Americans felt from decades of racial indignities? How were the riots interpreted by many whites? How do you account for the difference?

In the summer of 1965 the atmosphere in Los Angeles, and especially in the black ghetto of Watts, was very heavy. A few miles from the luxury of Beverly Hills, most homes were dilapidated, the population density was four times that of the most densely populated "white" part of town, one in four children was illegitimate, most residents illiterate, and poverty was massive.

The arrest of a black man for driving under the influence of alcohol and the excessive police violence he was subjected to on the night of August 11, upset the black ghettos. The next day riots and sporadic stone warfare with police took the form of mass demonstrations. The following two days, Los Angeles became the scene of the worst internal unrest in the United States. On the morning of August 13, the fever of the uprising swept through Watts and spread throughout the city. The clashes were of such magnitude that President Johnson even had to mobilize the National Guard to calm the situation, which resulted in 34 deaths and hundreds of wounded and detained.