itions helped trigger the violence" (Pope). However, after the commissions report, interest in the Watts riots faded and adequate action was not taken to address these issues in the affected areas. At the conclusion of its investigation, the McCone Commission cited that "so serious and so explosive is the situation that, unless it is unchecked, the August riots may seem by comparison to be only a curtain-raiser for what could blow up one day in the future" (Pope). Although the city has changed in those years since the Watts riots, unfortunately, much has remained the same. This confession by the McCone Commission proved to be prophetical. The Watts riots left 34 dead and 600 buildings damaged or destroyed. The '92 riots caused 52 fatalities, and more than 1,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed. An anonymous man from Hollywood made a similar statement in '92 after the riots. He stated, "the verdict was just the spark-this (the riots) had been set for years before" (Smith). The city of Los Angeles is not a unified city. Los Angeles consists of too many large sub cities or communities to speak with one voice. There are many sub cities in LA such as the Westside, Hollywood, the Valley, Downtown, and of course, South Central. To make things more difficult, many of these sub cities themselves are not unified. Due to their size, all of these communities are subject to their own problems, and it goes without saying that the problems of South Central are not the same as the ones in Hollywood. This is due to drastic demographic differences of each of the communities. South Central is made up of high percentages of minority citizens. While South Central LA has a high population of blacks, Hispanics and Asians, it has a low percentage of whites. South Central is a shining example of a community divided. In Maxine Waters words, (inner city) LA is full of too much hopelessness and despair. LA writer and critic Mike Davis supported Wat...
