The largest
and most costly race riot of the 60s was the Watts Race Riot. On August 11, 1965, young black Marquette
Frye was pulled over for suspicion of being drunk while driving. A crowd gathered around the scene as the
police officer arrested him. Members of
the crowd became angry at the police officer, and violence broke out soon after
the arrest. A large-scale riot formed in
the center of the commercial section of Watts.
The riots lasted six days as impoverished African Americans burned vehicles
and looted stores. Over 14,000 National
Guard troops were deployed in Watts and a curfew zone that spanned over
forty-five miles was established. When
the rioting subsided, thirty-four people were dead, more than a thousand people
were injured, and more than four thousand were arrested.
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