1965 to 2005: Same As It Ever Was

Today is the 40th anniversary of the preciptating event of the urban civil unrest in Los Angeles known as "the Watts Riots." Today's Los Angeles Times has a huge article with numerous first-person accounts with a sobering graphic that reveals that not much has changed in several significant measures since 1965. The percentage of renter-occupied housing was 66% in 1965, and it was 68% in 2000. The unemployment percentage was 14% with males and females in 1965 but was 21% and 25%, respectively in 2000. What has changed is the racial make-up of the 1965 "curfew zone" which encompassed Watts in 1965. Then it was 90% Black, 8% Latino and 2% "Others." In 2000, the same area was 38% Black, 61% Latino and 2% Other.

Many media outlets are covering the anniversary with extensive features. KPCC has been covering it on their numerous public affairs shows. The L.A. Weekly has three pieces on the riots, including this disturbing final graf from Joe Hicks:

Any remembrances of the 1965 Watts Riots must include sober
discussion of why, 40 years later, large parts of this city continue to labor
under the weight of poverty, low educational skills, and rampant gangs and
violence, as well as a less than vibrant business life. Some would say that this
is because the “system” still conspires to exploit, suppress and oppress black
and brown people. I say it’s because some continue to look in the rear-view
mirror, focused on yesterday’s realities, and serving up excuses and
disempowering theories of victimization rather than exploring realistic answers
to troubling problems.

Why does it have to be one or the other? Arguably, both perspectives contain some truth, though I would say that my evaluation leans toward the former, not the latter. For example, in another section of his article Joe Hicks derides those of us who resist using the term "riot" to describe the 1965 and 1992 "civil unrest events." Again, the truth is somewhere in between , or perhaps someplace completely different.