The 1965 Watts Riots Unfold Again—on Twitter

To commemorate the Watts Riots, which erupted in Los Angeles 50 years ago, Twitter account @WattsRiots50 is live-tweeting the events as they unfolded decades ago. The people behind the account have described their project as "a modern retelling of the historic time line" and have said they will be live-tweeting from August 11 to 17.

So far, the account has published nearly two dozen tweets retelling the riots—each with the hashtag #WattsRiots50—and many of them mention the Twitter handles of entities involved in the events that are now on Twitter, such as the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Police Department.

The Watts Riots occurred in August 1965 in the Watts section of Los Angeles after a white Highway Patrolman pulled over a black male driver on suspicion of drunk driving. According to the Civil Rights Digital Library, which is affiliated with the University of Georgia, a violent altercation followed the traffic stop, between police officers and a crowd that had gathered to watch the arrest. That crowd was reacting not only to the arrest, but also to the larger issue of racism in the city and tensions with the police.

Over six days, the California National Guard brought in more than 14,000 troops and city officials set a curfew. Thirty-four people died and more than 1,000 were injured. Police made nearly 4,000 arrests. The events cost more than $40 million in property damage.

"In the warzone called Watts, whole blocks lay in rubble and ashes," Newsweek wrote at the time, in an article called "After the Blood Bath." "Black men and women—the human debris of war—queued up in bread lines at makeshift relief stations. Jeep-loads of heavily armed soldiers warily prowled the streets, an American army occupying America's third biggest city."

The tweets draw obvious comparisons to contemporary race-based protests, including those in Ferguson, Missouri, this week to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown.

The Twitter account appears to be affiliated with Health Happens Aqui and the Community Coalition, in south Los Angeles. The person or people behind the account did not immediately respond to Newsweek's interview request.

Twitter retellings of historical events are common; one has retold the story of Passover, and one that retold the voyage of the Titanic has 65,000 followers.