BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | ACR 92|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 92
Author: Gipson (D), et al.
Amended: 8/20/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 70-0, 7/13/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: 50th Anniversary of the Watts Revolt
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution commemorates the 50th Anniversary of
the Watts Revolt.
ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1)Economic inequality is a critical component of community
well-being and the maintenance of social peace, and in 1964,
there were a total of eight revolts across African American
communities, including Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia,
and Jersey City, that came as a result of racial tension and
economic deprivation.
2)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.
3)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
ACR 92
Page 2
to nullify the state's fair housing law. 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.
4)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.
5)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. The results of the investigation found that the
Watts Revolt was a result of discrimination in employment,
education, housing, healthcare, and law enforcement. The
aforementioned issues persist within these communities today.
6)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."
This resolution:
1)Commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Watts Revolt, one of
the largest uprisings in 20th century America.
2)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.
3)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,
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Page 3
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).
4)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.
Comments
According to the author, "ACR 92 commemorates the 50th
Anniversary of the Watts Revolts and resolves to promote local
and statewide solutions to disparities in housing, education,
employment, healthcare and law enforcement. This resolution also
resolves to celebrate historic efforts that sought to improve
the condition of the community."
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/26/15)
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Mayor Eric Garcetti, City of Los Angeles
NAACP
Watts Labor Community Action Committee
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/26/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 70-0, 7/13/15
ACR 92
Page 4
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman,
Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, McCarty, Medina, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams,
Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Brough, Cooper, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Harper,
Kim, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Patterson
Prepared by: Jonas Austin / SFA / (916) 651-1520
8/26/15 16:41:13
**** END ****