Watts Wall Completed (PJW)

May 26, 1959
LOS ANGELES: After two months of construction, the Watts Wall has finally finished construction, on time and just a little over budget. Governor Pat Brown met with Los Angeles Police Chief William H. Parker, the man who came up with and pushed the idea of building a wall around the troubled neighborhood after two riots, in front of the large gate into the neighborhood. "This is just the first construction project in what will be major overhaul of California's infrastructure," the new governor told reporters.

"The city of Los Angeles does this out of safety," said Parker. "For both ours and theirs. If they want to riot and destroy property - let them destroy their own neighborhood." The Police Chief pointed to the security checkpoint, then at a large watchtower overlooking the neighborhood. "This wall will hold them. Los Angeles will no longer be troubled by these rioters".

Protesters showed up this morning, but they were held back by the National Guard, whom were mobilized by Brown before his visit to the completed wall today. The wall has had a polarizing effect on the American public; some large cities, such as Birmingham, Montgomery, and Atlanta have announced their own plans to construct walls around the city's negro population.

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke out against the construction of the wall, stating that, "America was founded on the principle that all its citizen were free and equal. We must tear down this wall, and prevent more from being constructed. We are all equal in God's eyes; we should not trap our fellow man behind looming walls and machine gun nests."

At noon today the gate was locked shut; for anyone to get in or out of the neighborhood they must provide passes to the security checkpoint explaining their reasoning. "Separate but equal is what our Supreme Court ruled," Parker stated. "Now we're separate, and if Watts follows the law, we'll be equal."