During the “Long, Hot Summer of 1967,” Detroit erupted in civil protest complete with looting, arson, and sniper-fire that signalled the inevitable downfall of the so-called “Model City.” The Detroit Riot was not the first of its kind, these riots had been happening around the country throughout the 1960’s and Detroit had become another city on the long list of urban rebellions. Detroit was in such chaos that Jerome Cavanagh, the mayor of Detroit, was forced to call in the National Guard. The riot had lasted only five days, from July 23rd to the 27th, yet by the end there were 43 reported deaths, 7,000 arrests, and $50 million of damage (“Detroit Riot of 1967”). Each riot had ties with the Civil Rights Movement and the strive for racial equality that was so prevalent in the 1960’s. The Detroit Riot was referred to by some as a rebellion, in which the participants seek reform through mass protest (Blumberg 139). These rebellions were oftentimes spontaneous yet there were undeniable patterns that appeared too often to be coincidental. The Detroit rebellion stemmed from racial inequality and discrimination of African Americans in the city. The most common factors of the rebellion were the issues of police bias and brutality against African Americans and housing and employment inequality. Consequences of the rebellion’s spontaneity, however, were disorder and lawlessness. Although it resulted in chaos, the 1967 Detroit Riot was a race rebellion in response to institutional
There were many race riots going on during the 1960’s. But some of the better known are Detroit, Chicago, and New York. They were so destructive, and filled with hatred. One of the most famous is the Detroit riots of 1967 where there was so much hatred and destruction.
The Newark uprising of 1967 was the result of many different forms of injustices directed against the black community in Newark. Police brutality was one of the major factors that contributed to the people’s uprising. When governor Hughes appointed a committee to investigate the causes of the uprising and the ways to improve the relationship between the police and the Newark’s community, there were many testimonies and evidences that proved that police brutality was one of the major causes leading to the uprising. Despite all the data and the evidences that the Governor’s Commission Report (GSCCD) included and the testimonies of many people that witnessed the uprising, the Report of the New Jersey State Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) rejected the findings to the Governor’s Commission Report and claimed that police brutality was just a stereotype in the African American neighborhoods. They suggested that the main reason that caused the uprising was the “weakness of official response” (PBA Report ix) to criminal acts done by members of the black community. This paper will focus mainly on assessing the arguments made by the PBA report and comparing them with the GSCCD report and the testimonies of the witnesses of the uprising.
I received the opportunity to interview one of my father's close friends and business partners, Mr. Joseph E. Hutchison Sr., for the purposes of exploring how he perceived the Detroit riots of 1697. Mr. Hutchison is an African American man, which has lived in multiple neighborhoods throughout Detroit all his life, and has raised a family in the city as well. Furthermore, Mr. Hutchison has a funeral home on Detroit's East Side, which has been thriving for more than forty-years. Moreover, he has a love for the city, no matter what condition the city is in. Pursuing this idea further, Hutchison has experienced about three race riots throughout his life, in which he
The Detroit Riot of 1943 is a riot between the two racial ethnicities- whites and blacks. During the World War 2, this riot is said to be “one of the worst riots” that had happened during those times (blackpast.org/Detroit-race-riot). Black people thought hey were heading to a guaranteed land where they could seek for better future. However, white southerners didn’t want black people to be in their neighborhood; the white people brought their prejudices along with them as they migrate towards the northern side. Because the arrival of newcomers, many suffered from being uncomfortable due to the wartime rationing.
Since the time of slavery, racial tension has existed between whites and blacks. This tension has only increased with the passing of time. This conflict culminated in the 1940s in the form of mob violence. While there have been previous riots because of race relations, none of them were of the magnitude of the 1943 Detroit riot. Much like any other event involving racism in the 1940s, the Detroit riot has little coverage, most of which is skewed, in articles in the nation?s leading news sources such as ?Deep Trouble? in Time, ?Riotous Race Hate? in Newsweek, and ?The Truth About the Detroit Riot? in Harper?s. Thus, one must compare articles from these sources to ascertain accurate information. Even when
The Memphis Riot of 1866 and Its Roots in the Social Upheaval of the Reconstruction
This paper will cover the events that took place within the first five days in south central Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict .
The Detroit riots occurred in the summer of 1967. The riot initially started because of race when poor African Americans got kicked out of their houses. They started living on 12th street in Detroit. The riot started there because African Americans were fed up with the way that they were being treated. Many years prior to the riot there were already racial issues. The government made it hard for African Americans to buy houses in the 1950s. During that time, white people were resisting African Americans from moving into Detroit. They were gathering outside of houses owned by African Americans until they would leave. According to Stanford, “I was blissfully unaware of the pervasive racism and resentment that was simmering in my city” (28).
Three years after BLM launched a nationwide uprising against police violence, what's next for the movement? In this special section, a leading African American historian explores how the group is forging a powerful new form of civil rights activism. Plus: How police in 1970s Detroit unleashed an undercover execution squad, and the modern-day rise of "warrior policing."
Detroit is a very well-known and diverse city. “Somewhere behind its neglected, graffiti covered skyscrapers are charming reminders of a city that was once among the world’s wealthiest” (Gray). This city has been through a lot. Detroit was first founded by the French in 1701 and then used as a fur trade post. Jumping a little in the future, it has had riots and protest for equal rights among its busy streets. Detroit is also known as the Motor City. “By the mid-twentieth century one in every six working Americans was employed directly or indirectly by the automotive industry” (Sugrue). Yet after everything this city has endured Detroit is thought of as a place of fear. It has a lot of history and has a lot to offer if people would let
This paper explains a very important moment in the history of our government that took place in Illinois in 1917. As World War I was beginning for the United States things were heating up in East St. Louis, Illinois. Anti-black riots killed or injured over one hundred black civilians. Then a Silent Parade of over ten thousand black citizens from New York broke out. Civil rights have always been an issue in our government, and according to www.kidzworld.com, after these anti black riots, things eventually led to the development of the The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and from that, Rosa Parks did not give up her seat on the bus. The creation of the NAACP also influenced the Little Rock, Arkansas incident, Martin L. King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech, and many other things which eventually led to equal rights for everyone with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This paper will explain the riots and how it shaped our government into providing equal jobs for all races.
In a time in the world where we are seeing increased violence and backlash against government and police control, it is necessary to look at the past and see what led our country to the state it exists in. Many issues such as police brutality, court decisions and riots are due to institutionalized inequalities. Desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement had a false appearance of equality that brought about a complex form of discrimination and resistance in response. Black lives were still being neglected and peaceful protests quickly morphed into militancy based in black nationalism. Malcolm X, a black revolutionary, once said that “Algeria was a police state. Any occupied territory is a police state. Harlem is a police state. The police in Harlem are like an occupying force. The same conditions that forced the noble people of Algeria to resort to terrorist-type tactics…those same conditions prevail in every Negro community in the United States.”Malcolm’s idea that a police state leads to terrorist tactics in negro communities is based in historical evidence of colonialism and segregation and can be reinforced by the arguments of Cabral,Covington, Daulatzai, The Battle of Algiers and the Spook who Sat by the Door. In this paper, I will argue that as Malcolm X stated, negro communities in the United States are subject to internal colonialism, segregation and isolation thus leading to the colonized people of these communities revolting against the police state which
Community members across the world have emotionally displayed their concern for African-American males suffering high levels of racial prejudice and discrimination. Michael Brown and Eric Garner were unarmed African-American males killed by police officers who were not held accountable for their actions has sparked hatred, fear, and conflict from community members across the world. Baltimore community leaders say, “… if we don’t address the root causes that is leading to the hopelessness and the anger and the despair, particularly, what the young black males out there are experiencing and feeling, (Houser,2015)” the acts of riots could happen to any city. The media demonstrates the lack of opportunities and complications
Racial tensions were at an all-time high in Detroit, as the housing situation in the city was segregated as incidents of violence against blacks who dared to move out of Black Bottom were attacked and forced to move or reconsider purchasing homes ((Boyd 150-154; Poremba 274; Sugrue 29, 55, 75-76 110, 260; Widick 99-112.) Unemployment was about 6% for whites and double for blacks despite the war efforts, an additional factor into creating a recipe for a hostile environment leading to the Race Riot
The African American unemployment problem as a result of job discrimination was another factor adding to racial tension in the city. In 1962, the national African American income was 55% relative to a white person's income within the same job, and throughout the 1960’s this wage gap remained (Blumberg 142). Detroit wasn't exempted from wage gaps and even further, during the 1960’s in Detroit, there was a spike in job losses in the automotive industry. Black people were most likely to get laid off because they didn't have seniority and had jobs of less importance so they were seen as more expendable (“Detroit Riot of 1967”). Victor Lewis, a riot participant, expressed a common belief of many rioters, “‘I had a job but I was fired because I was black. They didn’t like my face’” (McCrary 7B). The correlation between the black unemployment rates in July 1967 and the start of the riot are evident. Unemployment of black youths at the time of the riot was at an all time high so it allowed the unemployed to discuss rebellion. Job discrimination also seemed to be a contributor to the riot since Lewis expressed the same anger that African Americans shared over his treatment within the workforce because of his skin color. People seemed to join the riot to battle job discrimination and protest to get more jobs within the very prominent automotive industry within the city. Because of the color of their skin, they felt this prevented them from keeping their jobs or moving up the ranks