bell ringer #5 – 4/16/10

Bell Ringer #5 – 4/16/10Examine the following 1960s inner-city rebellions on pages 803-804. Write one fact about each riot:

1. Watts (Los Angeles, CA)

2. Newark, NJ

3. Detroit, MI

In 1965, California created Proposition 14, moving to block the fair housing section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This created anger within the inner cities.On August 11, 1965, L.A.’s South Central neighborhood of Watts became a scene of the greatest example of racial tension America had seen.

A L.A. police officer pulled over motorist Marquette Frye [with his brother Ronald]; he suspected Marquette of driving drunk. While officers questioned them, a crowd of onlookers had begun to form. When Rena Frye, the boys mother showed up, a struggle ensued which led to the arrest of all 3 members of the Frye family. More officers arrived on the scene and hit the brothers with their batons.

The crowd had grown and by this point had become angry. After the police left the scene, the crowd & tension escalated and sparked the riots, which lasted 6 days. More than 34 people died, 1000 wounded, and an estimated $50 - $100 million in property damage.

A state commission on the riots concluded that they weren't the act of thugs, but rather symptomatic of much deeper problems: the high jobless rate in the inner city, poor housing, and bad schools. Although the problems were clearly pointed out in the report, no great effort was made to address them, or to rebuild what had been destroyed in the riots.

The Vietnam War

1959-1975

Vietnam S.E. Asian country Gained freedom

after Japan lost WWII (1945)

France wanted power restored, Communism divided nation.

Working-class war 80% of soldiers from lower income

levels Af-Ams accounted for 20% of American

combat deaths but only 10% of U.S. population (disproportionate)

Under the “draft”, males age 18-26 could be called to serve in armed service. Average age of a Vietnam soldier was only 19!

Project 100,000 In 1966, the Defense Dept. launched this

to reduce rejection rate of Af-Ams in the military. Project forgave certain criminal records or lack of skills.

Supplied over 340,000 recruits to Vietnam - 136,000 who were Af-Am.

Many argued this made Vietnam a “white man’s war” but a “black man’s fight”.

HomeworkRead Ch 22, Sn 2Questions and key terms on page 803.