“HOT ENOUGH TO BLISTER THE skin, the Santa Ana Winds ravaged Los Angeles. Sirens raced down Manchester to the hospital on the other side of the cul-de-sac. They were loud and frequent, stopping us from opening the windows to let even the hot breeze blow through. From the ranch house picture window we could see black clouds from fires burning eight miles south. Newscasters called it a riot. Later, the people who lived in that part of the city, and history, would call it The Watts Uprisings.