Watts Neighborhood Erupts in Flames

From Aug. 11-15, 1965, citizens of the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles rioted, ostensibly sparked by a confrontation between a 21-year-old black man and the police attempting to arrest him for drunk driving. At first, 29 people were arrested but the riots continued to grow until the neighborhood resembled a war zone. In all, 34 people died, 3,438 were arrested, and over $40 million worth of property was damaged.