Amended in Assembly August 20, 2015

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, begin delete and Weber end delete begin insert Weber, Achadjian, Alejo, Atkins, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger  end insert begin insert Hernández, Irwin, Levine, Lopez, Low, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O’Donnell, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Ting, Williams, and Wood end insert )

(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 communities in various cities, including
Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Jersey City, that occurred
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 on a suspicion of drunk driving, which
resulted in a hostile confrontation between the Frye family and
police officers on the scene; and

WHEREAS, The Watts Revolt was a reaction to a long history
of systemic racial and economic injustice, including 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
significant 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
this incident 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 the
Watts Labor Community Action Committee, 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
(currently the Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center and Martin
Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital); and be it further

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.