In Conclusion

There needs to be improvements made in order to lessen residential segregation. There needs to be an understanding that action needs to be taken to change the problem. Frustrations among differing races will rise if there is not a common understanding that there’s something that needs to be change. We don’t want to fall back into the past, or reverse the work that has been done to lead up to this point. Keeping these situations bottled up only leads to riots and rebellions such as the Watts Riots. Although some may find this subject insignificant to themselves, living in our nation places those in the center of it all. If you look around, there is not one single race within our nation. There are many shades of colors among us. It is unavoidable to realize that present day segregation is in the here and now.

The Lines Remain

For those groups that made the decision voluntarily to live in a location where others share the same race or ethnicity, Rocha and Espino discourage this and say that it’s doing more harm than good. These people of the same race feel more at ease with each other, not having to worry about discrimination within their neighborhood. By doing this, they can be worsening the discriminatory thoughts and actions of differing races and ethnicities. Stereotypes remain as residences remain racially homogeneous. There needs to be a change in our society to lessen the fears of discrimination and increase the acceptance among various races. In their article they reported that, “…individuals residing in racially mixed areas are significantly more likely to report higher levels of interracial contact than are those living in racially homogeneous areas.” (Espino 416). By continuing to seclude themselves from other races, the line between them remains. This means that many either don’t want or aren’t able to interact with other races, which can lessen the discrimination among us. 

The "Choice"

To define just what ethnic residential concentrations are, Eugene Turner explains that they are, “neighborhoods in which members of ethnic groups live much closer to each other than would be the case if they were distributed randomly.” (Turner, 268) There are no longer restrictions placed based on race, but many people are choosing to live in a place where they are grouped together. Times have changed, and Turner continues on to say that many of today’s concentrations began as ghettos, but many metropolitan areas that have more amounts of ethnicities have become more concentrated post-1970s. All of these many protests that have led up to today would lead some to believe that our society would be more intertwined with other races. The word “choice” must be used loosely, as there are various factors that come into play as to why these members of a certain group gravitate towards these communities. Many people move into these communities because they have family that already live at that location. There can be limited financial resources, so that is the only area where they can afford housing, or employment locations, where they choose a residence around the area of the job or convenience of lesser transportation. 

Turner, Eugene. “Ethnic Residential Concentrations in United States Metropolitan Areas.” Geographical Review, Vol. 95, No. 2. American Geographical Society. 2005.  pp.267-285

Dimensions of Racism

Laura Pulildo explains how the definition of racism is defined too limitedly, and should be seen in a more broad scope. There are many different advantages and disadvantages that coincide with discrimination. Most people concentrate on extreme forms of racism that result in a physical altercation. There are many various forms that can fall under the category of discrimination. “Focusing exclusively on discriminatory actions ignores the fact that all places are racialized, and that race informs all places. Clearly, our preoccupation with discrete discriminatory acts ignores the vast dimensions of racism.” (Pulildo, 13) White privilege is a problem in our society. The privileges whites have over other ethnic minorities have more to do with the past versus the present. Their families in history started from the bottom long ago to have their many well-off decedents to be financially stable.  They were given a head start, with generations before them establishing the basics to which their families today have been born with. The remaining disadvantaged races were not allowed to reside in certain areas up until recently, making it more challenging to leave the area they’ve ended up in.  “Because whiteness is rarely problemized by whites, white privilege is scarcely acknowledged.” (Pulildo, 13) Many people pay more attention towards the discriminatory and hostile acts against races of color. People need to be aware that there is no single form of racism.

The Face of the Riots

There was a lot of confusion of what the true reason of the riots were. Many answers came from White men themselves, but in this news cast following the aftermath of the riots, they interview a citizens living in Watts.

Beneficial or Self-Destructive?

In news reports during the Watts Riots, reporters were able to describe the events occurring during the rebellion, and what followed after the riots. These people tried to put an end to the discrimination they were faced with by other differing ethnic groups, and by the police themselves, causing fear among all.  Laws of housing limits were dropped, yet in Southern California, it was still being reinforced. Since the Los Angeles Police Department decided to distance themselves to gain control once again, these problems within the community were not exposed. The excessive force used on these citizens continued to go on, finally igniting the increasing tension of that community. How the media portrayed the Watts Rebellion made it seem as though it was an outburst caused by no reason at all but to cause havoc. The people who participated did not express their anger and resentment in an effective way. They burned down buildings, stole from businesses, and were arrested and charged for their participation. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) executive secretary, Roy Wilkins, expressed that the civil rights cause did not condone the violent protests and extreme measures taken by the participants and “looters.” The aftermath of the chaos was compared to that of a tornado caused by man. 

Neighborhoods Remain the Same

With almost 50 years having gone by since the Watts Rebellion, neighborhoods don’t seem to have changed much since then. Laws have been changed and reformed in order for equality among differing races and ethnicities to be increased. Yet there are no more restrictions on housing based on the color of a person’s skin, racially segregated living still remains today. Neighborhoods have not changed much as the years have passed. The result of the Watts Riots ended up to be more of a destruction upon the rioter’s own neighborhoods. The outbreak did in fact receive great amount of media coverage and grabbed the attention of people around the world, but they could have gone about it in a more peaceful way. This act that sparked and grew so quickly was not properly executed, and ended with deaths, arrests, millions of dollars in damage. These neighborhoods occupied today are by the very same people, unable to afford – or for other various reasons – to relocate.

Comfort in Familiarity

Eugene Turner speaks of the ways of how ethnic parties are grouped together in certain locations. Although there are no longer restrictions on residences having to do with race, many of those within the same race choose to live where their race is more prominent within the population. Some areas have become more racially prominent following the 1970s. From this, many racial parties have grown accustomed to living around others of the same race and ethnicity. Although some residents of these neighborhoods are trying their best to relocate, many choose to remain, if not move to these locations, completely by choice. Taking a look at the ways groups have placed themselves in certain locations in society, Rene Rocha and Rodolfo Espino explain that sticking with areas that are more racially concentrated may be doing more harm than good. The cause of the gathering of races is not reduced down to a sole cause. There are many reasons why residents have ended up in the areas they have taken up.

Turner, Eugene. “Ethnic Residential Concentrations in United States Metropolitan Areas.” Geographical Review, Vol. 95, No. 2. American Geographical Society. 2005.  pp.267-285

Espino, Rodolfo. “Racial Threat, Residential Segregation, and the Policy Attitudes of Anglos.” Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 62, No.2. Sage Publications, 2009. pp. 415-426

White Priviledge

Laura Pulildo, author of the article, “Rethinking Environmental Racism,” argues that what people consider racism to be is too narrow of a definition, which limits and excludes certain acts of discrimination. In Pulildo’s definition of racism, she includes the advantage of white privilege. It refers the privileges received by whites for being white. Both versions of discrimination are present: the white upper hand and the minority disadvantage. After laws changed and there were no longer restrictions on housing, many whites were able to move away from these impoverished neighborhoods to those that were more established, safe, and more stable. They had the upper hand, as the rest of the population were forced to make do with the minimum amount of money they had, and ended up remaining in the same neighborhoods they were trying to get out of.

Pulildo, Laura. “Rethinking Environmental Racism: White Privilege and Urban Development in Southern California.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 90. Taylor & Francis, Ltd, 2000. Pp. 12-40

Dr. King Arrives in Los Angeles

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. arrives in Los Angeles. He explains that is very necessary to right the wrongs in which the riots have stemmed from. That these accumulated frustrations are mostly based on environment, not so much racial, such as housing, schools and jobs. He longs for the government to form a program to prevent a reoccurrence of these riots.

Footage of the Destruction

This is some of the footage of the Watts Riots in 1965 while it was occurring, showing the damage and destruction caused during the riots.

The Watts Rebellion Begins

After a great deal of time passed with no change, The Watts Rebellion began on August 11^th, 1965 after the arrest of Marquette Frye. This 21 year old black man residing in Watts was arrested on suspected DUI charges by the Los Angeles Police Department. Many onlookers witnessed the seemingly harsh arrest of Frye, as his mother and brother attempted to pry the officers off of him. This drew a lot of attention, and word spread quickly over the mistreatment by the LAPD. Many residents had already resented the local officers due to many acts of unfair treatment, and held them responsible for their poverty and alienation. (Nichols). The riots lasted for 6 days and resulted in 34 deaths, over 1,000 injuries, and nearly 4,000 arrests. There were also countless destruction of property, which was valued at $40 million. As buildings were being burned, firefighters attempted to help save these buildings. Due to the many looters roaming the streets, it increased distraction among these firefighters, trying to contain the problem. The National Guard was called after it was realized that the LAPD couldn't put an end to this alone. Some protesters shot at firefighters, police men, and the National Guard from rooftops. Finally by the 6th day, the rioting came to an end. Martin Luther King arrived in Los Angeles after the riots were over and was able to identify the problems that led to the rebellion. He said that the problems were, “environmental and not racial. The economic deprivation, social isolation, inadequate housing, and general despair of thousands of Negroes teeming in Northern and Western ghettos are the ready seeds which give birth to tragic expressions of violence.” (King, 1965) In an article King wrote for a paper called the Saturday Review, he claims that the outcome of the riots could have been predicted when “…officials tied up federal aid in political manipulation; when the rate of Negro unemployment soared above the depression levels of the 1930s; when the population density of Watts became the worst in the nation.” (King, “Beyond the LA Riots’). It’s sad to see that the combination of discrimination and hate crimes led to this horrific event.

Nichols, Casey. Blackpast.org. Watts Rebellion. 

King, ‘‘Beyond the Los Angeles Riots: Next Step, The North,’’ Saturday Review. Saturday Review. 13 November 1965.