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.

Living Conditions for the Minorities in Southern California

After World War II, over half a million African Americans migrated to the west coast to escape racism and discrimination after many laws of segregation were lifted. Many flooded Southern California to find better communities to occupy, settle down, and raise their families. Sadly enough, they found both factors waiting for them in the Los Angeles area. Even with the astounding numbers of blacks that migrated, 95% of the housing was off-limits to both blacks and Asians. This resulted in overcrowding within the confines of permitted housing locations. Many realtors helped with the prevention of these minority groups to settle down in these “white communities,” redirecting them to the areas the whites no longer cared to occupy. They were restricted to housing in East of South Los Angeles, Watts, and Compton. This separation was disheartening since these groups came in search for a better life. There was a feeling of isolation for the black residents of Watts, as many experienced multiple forms of discrimination relating to housing, employment, education and politics. 

Expansion of My Intentions

Today the United States has come a long way from its discrimination between races. Although racism will likely be forever present in society, the way people are treated has changed significantly overall. Racism has played a major role in our world’s history, leading to segregation, discrimination, hate crimes, riots and rebellions, and the ethnic structures of many residential areas. Although today in the United States there are no longer existing laws that prevent and separate a certain ethnicity to reside in specific areas, there are many places where those races are extremely prominent, with little to no white population. It is obvious to see that despite the fact that laws have been established to promote and sustain equality in our nation, the after effects of past discrimination remain present. In Southern California and the historic Watts Rebellion of 1965 that took place in the community of Watts in Los Angeles. The riots were ignited by overcrowded, segregated communities who decided to put an end to unfair treatment. I will attempt to show, with the help of articles, that even though we have come a way since discrimination and racism were embedded in our nation’s rules and laws, change within certain communities has not been very outstanding, as some minorities remain feeling alienated. The continuance of change to reach a more equalized world must not end.

To Brief You

The United States has come a long way from racial segregation and ethnic discrimination. Many people are not willing to befriend those outside of their own ethnic background, especially in the Midwest. Unfortunately, our neighborhoods are not changing. There are many places where races are more prominent in the certain areas.  I will be using historical events to see how much of an impact it has really made in our society today, since residential segregation played a significant factor in social movements and other instances in the past.