Watts truce

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Watts truce was a 1992

street gangs in Los Angeles, California, declared in the neighborhood of Watts. The truce was reached just days before the 1992 Los Angeles riots
and, although not universally adhered to, was a major factor in the decline of street violence in the city between the 1990s and 2010s.

Background and 1988 attempt

The late 1960s and the 1970s saw the formation of the

LAPD and city leaders following the murder of Karen Toshima in the city's Westwood neighborhood. In July of that year, the Rev. Charles Mims Jr. and others organized a gang summit in South Los Angeles, but formal support for gang prevention was non-existent at the time and this early effort was short-lived in media. Most of the members attending kept the truce going and did not resort to violence against each other, in particular the two Watts gang factions, the Bounty Hunter Bloods and the A Line Crips, and the truce still stands to this day. In October 1989, Minister Louis Farrakhan visited Los Angeles to deliver his Stop the Killing speech aimed at curtailing gang killings. He returned for part two at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
in January 1990 where hundreds of Crips and Bloods members were in attendance.

1992 peace treaty

In April 1992, Crips and Bloods in the

Bounty Hunter Bloods from the Nickerson Gardens housing projects, and the Hacienda Village Bloods[1] agreed to a ceasefire agreement following the death of Henry Peco, who had been shot execution-style by LAPD officers during a blackout[2] in the Imperial Courts housing project.[3]

On April 28, 1992, representatives from these four gangs signed a formal peace treaty at a

African-American gangs in the city declared themselves at peace and there were no major flare-ups in violence. The Watts truce is generally credited with contributing to the trend in declining street violence rates in Los Angeles.[7]

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. ^ Jackson, D. Amari (April 29, 2017). "The Lasting Legacy of the 1992 Watts Gang Truce". Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  2. ^ Afaray, Kamran (2009). Performance and Activism: Grassroots Discourse After the Los Angeles Rebellion of 1992. Lexington Books. p. 77.
  3. ^ CHAVEZ, STEPHANIE; SAHAGUN, LOUIS (January 5, 1992). "Slaying by LAPD Becomes Rallying Point : Police: Imperial Courts tenants use Henry Peco's death to vent frustrations about life at the housing project. They seek an independent investigation, but officials call the shooting justified". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  4. ^ Duane, Daniel (January 2006). "Straight Outta Boston Why is the "Boston Miracle" – the only tactic proven to reduce gang violence – being dissed by the L.A.P.D., the FBI, and Congress?". Mother Jones. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  5. ^ Stoltze, Frank (April 28, 2012). "Forget the LA Riots – historic 1992 Watts gang truce was the big news". LAist – NPR News for Southern California – 89.3 FM.
  6. ^ Trotter, Jim (May 20, 2023). "Was Jim Brown a great man? To me, yes. Was he a flawed man? Without question". The Athletic.
  7. KPCC
    Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved November 9, 2013.

Watts Gang Truce Activists. DeWayne Holmes, Twilight Bey

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Watts_truce&oldid=1158719335"