Amended in Assembly July 13, 2015

Amended in Assembly July 2, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 92

Introduced by Assembly Member Gipson

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Burke, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, McCarty, Ridley-Thomas, Thurmond, and Weber)

(Coauthors: Senators Hall and Mitchell)

June 25, 2015

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 92—Relative to the 50th Anniversary of the Watts Revolt.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 92, as amended, Gipson. 50th Anniversary of the Watts Revolt.

This measure would commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Watts Revolt.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, Economic equality is a critical component of
community well-being and the maintenance of social peace; and

WHEREAS, In 1964, there were a total of 8 revolts across
African American begin delete communities, end delete begin insert communities in various cities, end insert
including Chicago, begin delete New York City, end delete begin insert New York, end insert Philadelphia, and
Jersey City, that begin delete came end delete begin insert occurred end insert as a result of racial tension and
economic deprivation; and

WHEREAS, August 2015, will mark the 50th Anniversary of
the Watts Revolt (also known as the “Watts Rebellion”), which
began on August 11, 1965, when Marquette Frye and his brother
were stopped by police begin delete under a drunk driving suspicion, end delete begin insert on a
suspicion of drunk driving, end insert which resulted in a hostile confrontation
between the Frye family and police officers on the scene; and

WHEREAS, The Watts Revolt was begin delete the culmination of historic
and end delete begin insert a reaction to a long history of end insert systemic racial and economic
begin delete injustice that included end delete begin insert injustice, including end insert frustration with the
passage of Proposition 14 of 1964 in California, which sought to
nullify the state’s fair housing law; and

WHEREAS, This historic event, which took place in the greater
Watts neighborhoods of Los Angeles and the City of Compton,
involved six days of protest resulting in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries,
and over $40 million worth of property damage; and

WHEREAS, Between 31,000 and 35,000 adults participated in
the revolt over the course of six days. At that time, it was the most
begin delete severe end delete begin insert significant end insert uprising in the history of the South Los Angeles
region; and

WHEREAS, The Watts Revolt is an important part of Los
Angeles history and it is critical that we mark the 50th anniversary
of this event appropriately; and

WHEREAS, The McCone Commission, Chaired by John
McCone, was established by Governor Edmund G. Brown to
investigate the Watts Revolt and identify solutions to ensure that
begin delete such an issue end delete begin insert this incident end insert never reoccurred; and

WHEREAS, The results of the investigation found that the Watts
Revolt was a result of discrimination in employment, education,
housing, healthcare, and law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, The aforementioned issues persist within these
communities today; and

WHEREAS, When discussing the topic of social unrest in
America, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “I would be the first to
say that I am still committed to militant, powerful, massive,
nonviolence as the most potent weapon... But it would be morally
irresponsible of me to do that without, at the same time,
condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our
society”; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature commemorates the 50th
Anniversary of the Watts Revolt, one of the largest uprisings in
20th century America; and be it further

Resolved, That the California Legislature urges the development
of public and private solutions to statewide and local disparities
on the basis of legal and institutional racism in areas, including,
but not limited to, education, employment, housing, healthcare,
and law enforcement; and be it further

Resolved, That the California Legislature pays tribute to the
establishment of institutions that sought to remedy the key
challenges in the South Los Angeles community, including begin insert the
Watts Labor Community Action Committee, end insert California State
University, Dominguez Hills, Charles R. Drew Postgraduate
Medical School (currently Charles R. Drew University of Medicine
and Science), the Martin Luther King, Jr. General Hospital begin delete (the end delete
begin insert (currently the end insert Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center and Martin
Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital); and be it further

begin delete

Resolved, That the California Legislature celebrates the
organization of local, peaceful actions to redirect community
energy in positive and constructive ways, including the
development of the Watts Summer Festival, Watts Summer Games,
Watts Christmas Parade, and Watts Labor Community Action
Committee; and be it further

end delete

Resolved, That the California Legislature celebrates the
organization of local, peaceful actions to redirect community
energy in positive and constructive ways, including the
development of the Watts Summer Festival, Watts Summer Games,
and Watts Christmas Parade; and be it further

Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the
City of Los Angeles and the City of Compton, which are
encouraged to disseminate copies to local, community, and
statewide organizations throughout California; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.