The advent of television had a major affect on the way Americans viewed their nation and the political issues confronting America. Please watch this video clip of the 1965 Watts riots. What would your own reaction have been after seeing clips like this on the evening news? Remember that the riots broke out just days after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a supplement to the earlier Civil Rights Act of 1964. Do you think this is just a coincidence, or do you see a possible connection?
Friday, May 22, 2026
Watts Riots
The advent of television had a major affect on the way Americans viewed their nation and the political issues confronting America. Please watch this video clip of the 1965 Watts riots. What would your own reaction have been after seeing clips like this on the evening news? Remember that the riots broke out just days after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a supplement to the earlier Civil Rights Act of 1964. Do you think this is just a coincidence, or do you see a possible connection?
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My reaction was shock, dismay, disgust, and sadness after watching the video clip of the 1965 Watts riots. There was so much devastation, it looks like a war-torn country after years of battle! It shocks me to my core to see, and it makes me question the purpose behind it. What did people gain, besides the items they stole, I mean. What was their end goal?
ReplyDeleteThe disgust and sadness emanate from the fact businesses were destroyed, and the people of the neighborhood had to be terrified. The neighborhood being comprised mainly of Blacks, doesn't compute with me that they would destroy their own neighborhood. I can sympathize with their frustrations over poverty, segregation, and overall discrimination; however, why destroy their own neighborhood?
It seems this didn't elevate them in obtaining the things they desired and in fact, it most likely hurt their community with businesses burned to the ground. The supplies they would require on a regular basis were further from their reach. Correct?
As far as if I believe this was connected to the Voting Rights Act (1965), I believe that it's potentially thinly connected. Quite possible it was frustration and anger for the time it took to pass legislation that put the Blacks on a more even playing field. However, other articles I read indicate it was partly due to racist and abusive practices of the LAPD, poverty, residential segregation, and employment discrimination.
The injustice of it all is despicable. It's quite sad that any of the events of segregation, discrimination, and lack of respect took place. A blemish on who we are as Americans. Do better, be better, and start spreading kindness, rather than hate.
If I had seen clips of the Watts riots on the evening news in 1965, I think I would have been shocked and confused. Seeing buildings on fire, people fighting in the streets, and police trying to stop the violence would have made me worry about what was happening in the country. Many Americans probably felt scared because television brought the events directly into their homes, making the riots seem much more real than reading about them in a newspaper. I also think I would have wondered why people were so angry, especially since important civil rights laws had just been passed.
ReplyDeleteI do not think the timing was completely a coincidence. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement, but it did not immediately solve problems such as poverty, discrimination, unemployment, and poor relations with police in many communities. Some African Americans were frustrated because they felt that legal equality had not yet led to real improvements in their daily lives. While the Voting Rights Act helped protect voting rights, the Watts riots showed that many deeper social and economic problems still existed. In that way, the riots may have reflected the growing frustration that remained even after important civil rights legislation was passed.
If I had seen clips of the Watts riots on the evening news, my reaction would likely have been shocked, concern, and even confusion. Television would make the events feel very real and immediate, showing burning buildings, police response, and widespread unrest right in people’s living rooms. It would be hard to see that level of violence with the idea that the country had just made major progress through civil rights legislation.
ReplyDeleteAt first, I might assume it was just a sudden outbreak of violence, but I would also start to question what was causing it. Even though the Voting Rights Act had just passed, I would likely realize that legal change doesn’t instantly fix deeper problems like poverty, unemployment, housing inequality, and frustration in urban communities. Because of that, I would see the riots less as a random coincidence and more as a sign of ongoing tensions that the civil rights laws had not yet resolved.
Seeing footage of the Watts riots on the evening news would likely have been shocking and hard to process, especially because television made the violence and chaos feel immediate and real in a way newspapers never could. Many Americans would have been disturbed by the images of burning buildings and clashes with police, and it may have challenged their sense that the country was steadily improving after major civil rights legislation. Since the riots happened just days after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and followed the earlier Civil Rights Act of 1964, it might seem like a coincidence on the surface, but there is also a clear connection in the sense that these laws did not immediately solve deeper problems like poverty, inequality, and frustration in urban communities, which had been building for years and helped fuel the unrest.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video linked on the Watts Riots it was devastating to see the damage done. The ironic part is that the area that was burned down and destroyed was South Central LA. Which was and continues to be a predominantly African American neighborhood. In reality the arsonistic behavior matched with the looting just hurt their own people. I understand how frustrutated and mistreated they must have been, but hurting your own environment can't help in my opinion. It would have been better to target white owned businesses and anything abstaining from black business.
ReplyDeletePrior to doing any research I felt that the delivery of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Act should not have anything to do with this riot. Those two bills should have been huge wins for the race and enabled African American groups to celebrate in the streets. My theory is at the time there was alot of built up pressure and anomosity that the smallest incident would cause an insurrection amongst the people.
After doing a small amount of research several websites linked the riot starting due to a traffic stop between a white officer and black driver. This does not sound much different from what continues to happen today. Overall, I feel the riots were devastating. Not only for the people who died or were hurt, but for the black business owners and people trying to create a society for their people.