The Bell Riots were an event that took place in San Francisco on Earth in September 2024. They led to the end of the Sanctuary Districts and marked the real beginning of Humans working to find a lasting solution that would resolve social problems. This would set humanity on the path to founding the United Federation of Planets.
History
By the 2020s, those without employment, as well as those with mental problems, were moved into the Sanctuary Districts, which would later become no better than slums.
In 2024, a riot began in San Francisco's Sanctuary District A in which several workers were taken prisoner. Benjamin Sisko, posing as Gabriel Bell, helped ensure the hostages survival. The American public was made aware of the true nature of the sanctuary districts after Jadzia Dax convinced Christopher Brynner to use his company's internet channel to show recordings of District inhabitants. However, the governor of California ordered the National Guard to move in and regain control, killing hundreds of the inhabitants. (DS9 episodes: "Past Tense, Part I", "Past Tense, Part II")
Impact
The outrage over the deaths of Bell and the several other Sanctuary District residents led to the districts being closed down and the beginning of the United States of America correcting its social problems. (DS9 episode: "Past Tense, Part I")
Capital punishment was abolished after the Bell Riots. (ST - The Lost Era novel: Well of Souls)
Lidia Song Wu once commented that she thought the Bell Riots were like a "Boy Scout Jamboree" compared to the World War III and the Post-Atomic Horror. (ST - The Lost Era novel: The Sundered)
Following Sisko's return to the 24th century, the Federation Department of Temporal Investigations looked into Sisko's involvement in the Bell Riots. (STO novel: The Needs of the Many)
External link
- Bell Riots article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.