Research Paper: The Watts Riots

The Watts Riots

In August 1965, the Watts area of Los Angeles exploded as Black Americans raged and rioted against their second-class status in America. The event that triggered the so-called Watts Riots was a simple traffic stop. A young man was pulled over by a Highway Patrol motorcycle officer for possible drunken driving. A crowd gathered, the driver’s mother was called to come witness the event, and within 24 hours the National Guard had been called in to patrol the streets of Los Angeles. A simple traffic stop turned into to an explosive release of frustration and anger. 

Your assignment is to research and write a paper exploring the underlying reasons for the Riots You must select one of four topics to investigate. When you’ve done your research, you will write a 1250-1600-word paper that will use your research to shed light on the fury that riveted America’s eyes on Watts on August 15, 1965. To write your paper, you must use information from at least five sources: three books or studies on the underlying causes; at least one in-depth article from a periodical; at least one video file. You will use MLA formatting and citation standards. You will type your paper, which is due the last day of class. You will turn in a hard copy of your paper in class on that day. You will also email a copy of your paper to tomp99@earthlink.net. 

Choose one of these subjects and write about the role it played in causing the riots.
a. Police-community relations
b. Health care
c. Jobs and unemployment
d. Housing