Governor's Commission on the Los Angeles Riots records, 1965 August-December

Summary

Abstract:

Records of the Governor's Commission on the Los Angeles Riots, a body created by California Governor Edmund G. Brown on August 24, 1965 to conduct a thorough investigation of that summer's riots in Los Angeles.

Extent:

28 cartons, 4 boxes, 3 cardfile boxes, 3 oversize boxes and 2 oversize folders; 40 linear feet 2 digital objects (2 images)

Language:

Collection materials are in English

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of three series of records: 1. Indexes and Timeline; 2. Commission Topical Files; and 3. Commission Administrative Files. The first series, Indexes and Timeline, includes an alphabetical name index and a detailed subject index (see note on arrangement for additional information and instructions on how to use the index) and an hourly timeline of the riots (in two cardfile boxes). The second series, Commission Topical Files, consists of files on a range of topics created in the course of the Commission's investigations. The third series, Commission Adminstrative and Legal Files, consists of correspondence, files on media coverage, office files. Also included in this series are staff and consultant reports; transcripts of testimony; depositions; reports of interviews; correspondence; exhibits; and statistical data and other documentary material gathered by or prepared for the Commission. The final report of the Commission is included in Subseries 3.16. Photographs in the collection include a series of black and white prints documenting riot property damage (in Subseries 2.9), some prints from the Los Angeles Times (in Subseries 3.9), and some images of police raids of the Veteran's Club and a Muslim temple in Los Angeles (both in Subseries 3.20).

Biographical / historical:

On August 24, 1965 Governor Edmund G. Brown charged the Governor's Commission on the Los Angeles Riots to establish "an accurate chronology and description of the riots and attempt to draw any lessons which may be learned from a retrospective study of these events." The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Commission were John A. McCone (former head of the Central Intelligence Agency) and Warren M. Christopher respectively. Members included Judge Earl S. Broady, Asa V. Call, Reverend Charles S. Cassasa, Reverend James Edward Jones, Dr. Sherman M. Mellinkoff, and Mrs. Robert G. Neumann. The Commission's report, titled Violence in the City -- An End or a Beginning?, was issued on December 2, 1965. The Commission concluded that the riots had roots in serious and deeply engrained social problems, including poverty, inequality, unemployment, racial discrimination, and police brutality.

Acquisition information:

The Governor's Commission on the Los Angeles Riots records were given to The Bancroft Library by the Office of the Governor of California in July, 1973.

Physical location:

Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Rules or conventions:

Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Location of this collection:

UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US

Contact:

510-642-6481

bancref-library@berkeley.edu

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