Watts riots

In August 1965, The Times was the voice of white Los Angeles. That shaped how the paper covered the Watts riots. But later, an admirable series explored the origins of the violence, a powerful counterweight to earlier fumbles.

The Watts Rebellion was a series of riots that stemmed from an August 1965 arrest in a mostly Black Los Angeles neighborhood before subsiding after six days.

In the summer of 1965, riots broke out in the Watts neighborhood of southern Los Angeles. Over a six-day period, 34 people were killed, 1,032 injured and over 3,438 arrests were made. In 1966, LIFE magazine revisited the site of the worst riots America had ever seen in its history. The photo essay d

Watts Riots August 1965.

The Times staff won a Pulitzer Prize for local spot news reporting for the paper's coverage of the Watts riots. Here's a look at the front pages during the height of the unrest in August 1965, as well a seven-part series, called "The View From Watts," which ran in October that year. Read more: Stunned by the Watts riots, the L.A. Times struggled to make sense of the violence Traffic stop was the spark that ignited days of destruction in L.A. Full coverage: Watts Riots R...

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1965 Watts Riots: People are lined up at a local church in the Watts area. The church was offering assistance after the riots. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Aug. 14, 1965. Smoke from a row of buildings burning on Central Ave, , south of 43rd St., darkens sky during the Watts Riot.

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