By % of black people lived in the north Before mid 60s civil rights protests had been aimed at improving civil rights in the south Problems of black people in the northern and western cities had hardly been touched Between 1950 and 1960, 4 million blacks migrated to the inner cities in the north Inner city slums (ghettos) had poor transport systems, schools, hospitals and housing. Little money was invested on improving these areas

Many Blacks found themselves in the ‘vicious circle of poverty’

The vicious circle of ghetto problems made many blacks angry and desperate to find a way out of the poverty trap One black teenager said: In the ghettos the white man who is poor has only one handicap, poverty. The black man who is poor has two handicaps, he is poor and black.

The Ghetto Riots of the 1960s Mid 60s black anger grew In 1965 the 1st of many city riots took place in Los Angeles

Watts area of LA was a ghetto slum Population was 98% Black but most of the police were White To most Blacks the police represented White power Last night a police officer stopped us and said, ‘OK, everybody get off the street!’ I said, ‘Hey man, it’s summer. It’s really hot. We don’t have air-conditioned rooms like you rich white folks. We like to hang out with our brothers and sisters on the street till late in the cool night air. Where are we going to go? We got no job to get up for in the morning.’ But the policeman came at us with his stick and his guns. He wanted to beat people on the head. He arrested one guy. Interview with a young black man, Levi Jackson

Aug police stopped a Black youth for drunk driving Fight broke out between police and Black residents of Watts Escalated into a riot

Left 34 dead, mostly blacks shot by police - many were innocent victims of confusion Most ghetto residents took no part in the rioting 900 wounded 4,000 arrested $50 - $100 million in property damage Lasted 6 days

In 1966 another 43 ‘race riots’ took place in various cities

Importance of Watts Martin Luther King went to visit LA and spread the message of non-violence Young Blacks shouted at him and heckled him Blacks in northern cities were not attracted by the message of non- violence Historians argue the message of non-violence was no longer popular, the more violent message of Black Power promised faster results

Further riots took place between 1965 and 1968

Two famous riots took place in Chicago and Detroit in 1966

President Johnson ordered an official investigation into the causes of the riots (Kerner Commission) The Kerner Commission discovered –USA divided into 2 societies – one Black and poor, one White and rich –40% of all Blacks lived in poverty –Black men were twice as likely to be unemployed as White men –Black men were three times as likely to be in low skilled jobs as White men –Riots and other crimes were cause by poverty