Long, hot summer of 1967
The long, hot summer of 1967 refers to the more than 150 race riots that erupted across the United States in the summer of 1967.[2][3][4] In June there were riots in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Tampa. In July there were riots in Birmingham, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Newark, New Britain, New York City, Plainfield, Rochester, and Toledo.
Long, hot summer of 1967 | |
---|---|
Part of the Civil Rights Movement and Ghetto riots | |
Date | Summer of 1967 |
Location | |
Resulted in | Kerner Commission established |
Casualties | |
Death(s) | 85+[1] |
Injuries | 2,100+ |
Arrested | 11,000+ |
The most destructive riots of the summer took place in July, in Detroit and Newark; many contemporary newspapers headlines described them as "battles".[5] As a result of the rioting in the summer of 1967 and the preceding two years, President Lyndon B. Johnson established the Kerner Commission to investigate the rioting and urban issues of Black Americans.[6]
History
A history of institutionalized unemployment, abusive policing, and poor housing was already present in certain areas of the United States. Riots began to flare up across the country but especially during the summer months. With rioting in urban areas across the country, and the Summer of Love occurring in hippie communities,[7] Americans were witnessing US troop movements in the Vietnam War shown on the nightly television news. At the end of July, President Lyndon B. Johnson set up the Kerner Commission to investigate the riots; in 1968 it released a report blaming pervasive societal inequalities in American ghettos for the riots. By September 1967, 83 people were dead, thousands were injured, tens of millions of dollars worth of property had been destroyed and entire neighborhoods had been burned.[8]
Reactions
It is in the context of having been through the "long, hot, summer" that in December 1967, Miami police chief Walter E. Headley uttered the now-infamous phrase, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts", after which Frank Rizzo, Richard Daley and George Wallace also spoke out in favor of a hardline approach towards looters and rioters.[9] The Republicans, although a minority party in the House of Representatives, were split over how to respond to the rioting, despite common historiographical perceptions which depict them as being entirely in favor of a "law and order" styled approach.[10]
In early July 1967, the Justice Department met with local media to ask for "restraint in reporting".[11] In December of the same year, The New York Times asked a psychologist about "deterrents" and was told that the riots would continue.[12]
Polling
In a March 1968 Harris poll reported in The Washington Post, 37% of Americans agreed with the Kerner Commission's report that the 1967 race riots were brought on mainly by inequalities; 49% disagreed. A majority of whites (53%) rejected the idea, with just 35% agreeing. In contrast, 58% of blacks supported it, and only 17% disagreed.[13]
Political response
Throughout the summer that year, both the Republican and Democratic parties were split on how to handle the riots. In both parties two factions existed: one that advocated for law and order, and another that supported an approach based on social justice. Democrats held the majority of seats in both Houses of Congress while the Republicans held the minority. Despite common historiographical perceptions that depict the Republicans as being entirely in favor of a "law and order" styled approach to the riots, there was division in the party. President Johnson's popularity levels decreased that summer because of the riots.[10]
During July, conservatives in the Republican Party dominated its response to the riots. Republicans believed this would be an opportunity to attack President Johnson and his War on Poverty initiative. Many Republicans would end up blaming Johnson for what happened that summer and many supported cutting back on programs that benefited urban areas.[14] In the Senate, Republicans took a largely different approach that month than those who were in the House with most Republican Senators supporting Johnson's anti urban poverty programs.[15]
In the 1968 presidential primaries, the two factions of law and order along with social justice would clash in the Republican Party. Ronald Reagan would orientate himself as a law and order candidate, Nelson Rockefeller siding with the justice faction and Richard Nixon catering to both factions. Nixon would end up emerging victorious. Nixon called to control crime, scale back the War on Poverty and encourage black capitalism as a way to "restore urban areas".[16]
On August 10, the Kerner Commission would recommend in a letter to President Johnson that they should substantially and immediately increase the amount of African Americans serving in the National Guard and Air National Guard. The reason being they thought with more African-Americans serving in the National Guard it could be a more effective force at preventing civil disorder.[17]
List of riots
Some of the riots include:
Location | Date | Deaths | Injured | Arrested | Notes[18] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Omaha, NE | 1. April 1 | 0 | 21 | 200 black youths damaged police cars and looted stores. | |
Nashville, TN | 2. April 8 - 10 | 0 | 14+ | 100 | Black college students from Tennessee State University rioted for 3 consecutive nights along Jefferson Street after Stokely Carmichael was denied to speak at the college campus.[19] |
Louisville, KY | 3. April 11 - Mid-June | 0 | 700 | Black demonstrators protesting for open housing during segregation was harassed by white counter-protesters who threw rocks and bottles. During a visit by Martin Luther King Jr., 2,500 National Guardsmen protected the Kentucky Derby due to the possibility of a race riot.[20] | |
Cleveland, OH | 4. April 16 | 0 | Black youths looted stores in Hough in Cleveland, which was also the location of previous rioting in 1966. | ||
Massillon, OH | 5. April 17 | 0 | 17 | A fight broke out between black and white teenagers resulting in 17 arrests. | |
Wichita, KS | 6. May 2 - 3 | 0 | Black high school students fought against white students. | ||
Jackson, MS | 7. May 12 | 1 | Several | Jackson State University student, Benjamin Brown was killed by 2 stray shotgun blasts by police into a crowd which was throwing rocks and bottles.[21] National Guardsmen restored order after two nights of rioting near Jackson State University. | |
San Francisco, CA | 8. May 14 - 15 | 0 | 14+ | 29+ | 500 black youths rioted at the amusement park Playland, which spilled out into Golden Gate Park and Haight-Ashbury.[22] |
Houston, TX | 9. May 17 | 1 | 500 | Rookie police officer, Louis Kuba, was killed during unrest on predominately-black college campus. Nearly 500 students were arrested.[23] | |
Vallejo, CA | 10. May 21 | 0 | Black rioters stoned cars and snipers fought police after a drag race was broken up. | ||
Chicago, IL | 11. May 21 | 0 | 10 | 30 | 10 people, including 3 police officers were injured and 30 were arrested in a melee during a memorial service for Malcolm X.[24] |
Chicago, IL | 12. May 30 | 0 | 37 | 37 were arrested after a race-related clash. | |
Boston, MA | 13. June 2 - 5 | 0 | 100 | 73 | A group of female welfare recipients started a sit-in at the Grove Hall Welfare Office at 515 Blue Hill Ave, resulting in a police response that angered the black population of Boston. The rioting spilled out along Blue Hill Ave for 4 days. The damage was estimated to be about 2 million in 1967 dollars (equivalent to $17,552,894 in 2022).[25] The National Guard restored order soon afterwards. |
Clearwater, FL | 14. June 3 | 0 | 10 | 10 people were arrested after Black rioters attacked police for trying to break up a fight between 2 black men.[26] | |
Tampa, FL | 15. June 11 - 14 | 2 | 100+ | After police shot black man, Martin Chambers, after he and 2 others robbed a photo warehouse, rioting spread throughout Tampa for 4 days. As a result, a black man and a white police officer were killed, more than 100 people were arrested, and damage was reported at 2 million dollars in 1967 dollars (equivalent to $17,552,894 in 2022). | |
Prattville, AL | 16. June 11 | 0 | 4 | 10 | The National Guard sent in after Black snipers opened fire on the police following the arrest of Stokely Carmichael.[27] |
Cincinnati, OH | 17. June 12 - 19 | 1 | 63 | 404 | In Avondale, black man Posteal Laskey Jr. was convicted as the Cincinnati Strangler. Protesters of the verdict turned violent and rioting spread throughout Reading Road, Burnett Avenue, and eventually Bond Hill, Winton Terrace, Walnut Hills, Corryville, Clifton, West End, and Downtown.[28] As a result, 1 person was dead, 63 were injured, and 404 were arrested, and damages totaled 3 million dollars (equivalent to $26,329,341 in 2022). It took 1000 National Guardsmen to quell the unrest.[29] |
Montgomery, AL | 18. June 12 | 0 | National Guardsmen turned back black protesters against the jailing of Stokely Carmichael in nearby Prattville, who were marching on the State Capitol. | ||
Los Angeles, CA | 19. June 13 | 0 | Stones and bottles were thrown at firemen in and near the Watts area (which was also the scene of a massive riot in 1965) while attempting to put out a fire that destroyed a small factory.[30] | ||
Philadelphia, PA | 20. June 13 | 0 | 4+ | 25 | 25 people were arrested and 4 policemen hurt after rocks and bottles were thrown around a 12-block area due to a dispute over a rug.[26] |
Maywood, IL | 21. June 14 | 0 | Young black men and women rioted while demanding a swimming pool in a historically neglected area.[31] | ||
Dayton, OH | 22. June 14 - 17 | 0 | Black gangs started smashing windows, setting fires, and looting after a speech by H. Rap Brown, head of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.[26] | ||
Middletown, OH | 23. June 14 | 0 | 4 | Four black youths were arrested after youths threw rocks at cars, stores, and homes. | |
Lansing, MI | 24. June 16 | 0 | 3 | 2 | Three people were injured and two people were arrested as black gangs hurled rocks and bottles at police. |
Atlanta, GA | 25. June 17 - 20 | 1 | 22 | 13 | Four days of disorder began after a fight ensued between a black male and a black security guard who would not let him in the Flamingo Grill located at the Dixie Hills Shopping Center. |
Roanoke, VA | 26. June 23 | 0 | Several | 9 | A near-riot in a predominately black business neighborhood injured several and nine were arrested. |
Buffalo, NY | 27. June 26 - July 1 | 0 | 100 | 200 | Groups of black teenagers started looting along William Street and Jefferson Avenue. While it was broken up that night, on the next day, arson, looting, and vandalism broke out. About 100 people were injured and 200 were arrested. Damage was estimated at $250,000 (equivalent to $2,194,112 in 2022). |
Cincinnati, OH | 28. July 3 - 5 | 0 | One of 3 race-related riots that took place in 1967 in Cincinnati. | ||
Los Angeles, CA | 29. July 6 | 0 | More rock and bottle throwing erupted in Watts. | ||
Des Moines, IA | 30. July 9 - 10 | 0 | 6 | Black gangs threw rocks and bottles resulting in six arrested. | |
Kansas City, MO | 31. July 9 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 1 was injured and 11 were arrested after tear gas was dispersed on black looters who broke windows and attacked police cars. |
Waterloo, IA | 32. July 9 - 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 were injured in two nights of minor disturbances where African-Americans stoned passing cars and looted stores.[32] | |
Newark, NJ | 33. July 12 - 16 | 26 | 727 | 1465 | 26 were killed, 727 were injured, and 1,465 were arrested in Newark after false rumors of a black man being killed by police. In an attempt to contain the violence, the bridges along the Passaic River were closed every night and nearly 8,000 state police and National Guardsmen were deployed in Newark. |
Plainfield, NJ | 34. July 14 - 16 | 1 | 150 | Spillover from Newark riots. In Plainfield, black rioters looted 90 stores and kicked/shot a white policeman to death. After an arms factory was broken into nearby Middlesex, New Jersey, National Guardsmen were also deployed in Plainfield. | |
Irvington, NJ | 35. ~July 14 | 0 | Spillover from Newark riots. | ||
Orange, NJ | 36. ~July 14 | 0 | Spillover from Newark riots. | ||
East Orange, NJ | 37. ~July 14 | 0 | Spillover from Newark riots. | ||
Montclair, NJ | 38. ~July 14 | 0 | Spillover from Newark riots. | ||
Asbury Park, NJ | 39. ~July 14 | 0 | Spillover from Newark riots. | ||
New Brunswick, NJ | 40. ~July 14 | 0 | Spillover from Newark riots. | ||
Elizabeth, NJ | 41. ~July 14 | 0 | Spillover from Newark riots. | ||
Paterson, NJ | 42. ~July 14 | 0 | Spillover from Newark riots. | ||
Jersey City, NJ | 43. ~July 14 | 0 | Spillover from Newark riots. In Jersey City, the violence ended quickly after the mayor took a tough stand. | ||
Hartford, CT | 44. July 14 | 0 | 11+ | 20 | After a black teenager was arrested for swearing at a waitress, black gangs started rioting by throwing bricks and firebombs, resulting in 11 policemen being injured and 20 arrested.[33] |
Erie, PA | 45. July 14 | 0 | One of 3 outbursts of arson and brick-throwing in Erie. | ||
Des Moines, IA | 46. July 16 | 0 | Recurring violence in Des Moines. | ||
Fresno, CA | 47. July 16 | 0 | 1 | An anti-poverty worker was wounded by a gunfight. Firebombing caused 23 fires. | |
Greenwood, NC | 48. July 17 | 0 | Black and white rioters fought with rocks after five whites were charged with terrorizing a black minister in his home. | ||
Cairo, IL | 49. July 17 - 21 | 0 | After the jailhouse suicide of Robert Hunt, 9 firebombings took place and threats of violence were sent. | ||
Erie, PA | 50. July 18 | 0 | One of 3 outbursts of arson and brick-throwing in Erie. | ||
Nyack, NY | 51. July 19 | 0 | 18 | Violence spread from Newark to New York when dozens of black youths ran through Nyack, taunting police, and breaking the windows of homes and businesses.[34] Police marched in a phalanx through the streets to break up bands of black marauders. | |
Minneapolis, MN | 52. July 19 - 24 | 0 | 24 | 36 | After an alleged plot set up by Black Panther Party leader, Stokely Carmichael or/and the shooting of a black shoplifter by a Jewish business owner, violence erupted along Plymouth Avenue. 600 National Guardsmen were deployed to quell the outbreak of violence. Total damage was about 4.2 million dollars (equivalent to $36,861,078 in 2022). |
Durham, NC | 53. July 19 | 0 | 3 | National Guardsmen watched over predominately black protesters. Two blacks were injured by gunshot by a passing car, windows were broken, and bricks were tossed at motorists by black and white rioters. | |
Lakeland, FL | 54. July 20 | 0 | Black youths threw fire bombs into white-owned grocery stores. | ||
Bridgeton, NJ | 55. July 21 | 0 | Windows were broken by black rioters following the arrest of a black man. | ||
Hattiesburg, MS | 56. July 22 | 0 | 27 | 27 black protesters were arrested for disturbing the peace in a boycott of stores. | |
Wadesboro, NC | 57. July 22 | 0 | 1+ | After a black person was shot and run over by a car, black rioters went on a rock-throwing rampage. | |
Youngstown, OH | 58. July 22 | 0 | Violence involving blacks and whites resulted in 2 buildings being blown up by dynamite.[35] Police and firemen were harassed by rioters. | ||
Englewood, NJ | 59. July 22 - 24 | 0 | 3 nights of violence erupted in Englewood. At one point, 100 policemen were pinned down by snipers. | ||
Houston, TX | 60. July 23 | 0 | Blacks gangs roamed through the streets and set three fires with fire bombs. | ||
Detroit, MI | 61. July 23 - 28 | 43 | 1189 | 7231 | Nearly 1,200 people were injured and over 7,200 people arrested, many of them being the estimated 10,000 rioters who ravaged the city. The casualties and damages were the highest since the New York City draft riots or the Tulsa race massacre depending on what sources were used. 2,509 buildings reported looting or damage while 412 buildings were burnt down or damaged enough that they had to be torn down. While news reports put costs from damage in the hundreds of millions, investigations have put estimates of property damage costs at 40 (equivalent to $351,057,884 in 2022) to 45 million (equivalent to $394,940,120 in 2022).[36] |
Grand Rapids, MI | 62. July 23 - 25 | 0 | 44[37] | 350[37] | Spillover from Detroit riot. The riot area was bounded by Wealthy Street on the north, Division Avenue on the west, Lafayette Avenue on the east, and Hall Street on the south.[37] National Guardsmen and State police were deployed as arson and looting went on for several days. |
Pontiac, MI | 63. ~July 23 | 2 | 25 | Spillover from Detroit riot. Two blacks were killed, one by a State legislator protecting his store. 25 rioters were arrested, 40 fires were set, and gun shops were looted. | |
Flint, MI | 64. ~July 23 | 0 | Spillover from Detroit riot. | ||
Kalamazoo, MI | 65. ~July 23 | 0 | Spillover from Detroit riot. | ||
Mount Clemens, MI | 66. ~July 23 | 0 | Spillover from Detroit riot. | ||
Muskegon, MI | 67. ~July 23 | 0 | Spillover from Detroit riot. | ||
Benton Harbor, MI | 68. ~July 23 | 0 | Spillover from Detroit riot. | ||
Albion, MI | 69. ~July 23 | 0 | Spillover from Detroit riot. | ||
New York City, NY | 70. July 23 - 30 | 4 | 29+ | 32+ | Following the shooting of a Puerto Rican by a police officer, unrest erupted in Spanish Harlem along Third Ave between 109th and 126th Streets, South Bronx, and Bedford–Stuyvesant, resulting in the deaths of 4 Puerto Ricans. |
Toledo, OH | 71. July 23 - 25 | 0 | 50+ | 180 | Inspired by the Detroit riots, groups of black youths started looting stores. The rampage caused the National Guard to be deployed with orders to shoot to kill. |
Birmingham, AL | 72. July 23 | 0 | 11 | 70+ | National Guardsmen helped police quell rioting. 11 were injured and more than 70 rioters were arrested. |
New Britain, CT | 73. July 23 | 0 | Police sealed in a black neighborhood after an attack on a white motorist. | ||
Rochester, NY | 74. July 23 - 24 | 2 | Violence erupted as white and black gangs raided each other's neighborhood, resulting in $60,000 damage (equivalent to $526,587 in 2022) and 2 blacks killed. | ||
Tucson, AZ | 75. July 23 - 24 | 0 | Black rioters fought police for two nights in Tucson. | ||
Lima, OH | 76. July 23 | 0 | 21 | Police arrested 21 black youths after being caught breaking the windows of stores. | |
Waukegan, IL | 77. July 23 - 25 | 0 | Police from neighboring cities came to Waukegan to help quell two days of vandalism. | ||
Cambridge, MD | 78. July 24 | 0 | After a police officer's shotgun was fired without warning, a pellet ricocheted and hit SNCC leader "Rap" Brown. National Guardsmen were sent in after night of rioting and shooting in which a 17 buildings were destroyed by fire. | ||
Saginaw, MI | 79. July 26 | 0 | 7 | 50 | Spillover from Detroit riot. |
Phoenix, AZ | 80. July 26 | 0 | 2 days after the rioting in Tucson ended, it erupted again in Phoenix. | ||
Mount Vernon, NY | 81. July 26 | 0 | Looting erupted around South Seventh Avenue and West Third Street and a state of emergency was declared by mayor Joseph P. Vaccarella.[38] | ||
South Bend, IN | 82. July 26 | 0 | 1000 National Guardsmen was sent into South Bend after roving black gangs in the western section of the city caused unrest.[39] | ||
Marin City, CA | 83. July 26 | 0 | 3 | Black rioters set fires and shot at firemen. Three people were wounded during the unrest. | |
Sacramento, CA | 84. July 26 - 27 | 0 | Stores were vandalized and hit by arson. A school was also hit by arson. | ||
San Francisco, CA | 85. July 27 - 28 | 0 | Two nights of hit-and-run violence of blacks shooting at white youths. | ||
Cincinnati, OH | 86. July 27 | 0 | One of 3 race-related riots that took took place in 1967 in Cincinnati. | ||
Philadelphia, PA | 87. July 27 | 0 | The mayor declared a state of "limited emergency" after vandalism erupted in Philadelphia. | ||
Alton, IL | 88. July 27 | 0 | Supermarkets were vandalized as a cab driver was wounded and two police cars were hit by buckshot by a black gang. | ||
New Rochelle, NY | 89. July 27 | 0 | Black youths returning from a community-action program threw rocks and broke 3 store windows. | ||
Lorain, OH | 90. July 27 | 0 | National Guardsmen were sent in to quell vandalism and arson. | ||
Albany, NY | 91. July 27 | 0 | Vandalism spreads to upstate New York. | ||
Poughkeepsie, NY | 92. July 27 | 0 | Vandalism spreads to upstate New York. | ||
Peekskill, NY | 93. July 27 | 0 | Vandalism spreads to upstate New York. | ||
East St. Louis, IL | 94. July 27 - 28 | 0 | 23 | 23 people were arrested after two nights of window-smashing and arson. | |
Passaic, NJ | 95. July 27 | 0 | Vandalism spreads through-out the Tri-State area. | ||
Waterbury, CT | 96. July 27 | 0 | 11+ | At least 11 people were injured and 2 were shot in an outburst of rock-throwing and looting. Police used tear gas to quell the unrest. | |
Seattle, WA | 97. July 27 | 0 | Vandals and rioters set at least one fire and tossed rocks and bottles. | ||
Memphis, TN | 98. July 27 | 0 | Violence subsided quickly after the National Guard was deployed in Memphis. | ||
Springfield, OH | 99. July 27 | 0 | 5 | Five people were arrested after a wave of rock-throwing and arson. | |
New Castle, PA | 100. July 28 - 30 | 0 | Roving bands of black teen-agers threw fire bombs, smashed windows with rocks. | ||
Pasadena, CA | 101. Late July | 0 | Violence hit suburbs of Los Angeles in late July, resulting in the police using a new aerosol tear-gas gun called the Chemical Mace. | ||
Long Beach, CA | 102. Late July | 0 | Violence hit suburbs of Los Angeles in late July, resulting in the police using a new aerosol tear-gas gun called the Chemical Mace. | ||
Wilmington, DE | 103. July 28 - 29 | 0 | 13[40] | 325[40] | City council passed riot-control measures as black gangs rampaged Wilmington. |
Newburgh, NY | 104. July 29 | 0 | A Neo-Nazi rally resulted in fighting between black rioters and the National Renaissance Party, store windows broken, police cars broken, and 30 blacks arrested.[41] Police were also helped in controlling crowd by using the Chemical Mace. | ||
Elgin, IL | 105. July 29 | 0 | Police sealed off five blocks of downtown Elgin after black gangs began setting fires, arson, and throwing bricks and bottles. | ||
Rockford, IL | 106. July 29 - 30 | 0 | 11 | 44 | Two nights of rioting resulted in 11 injuries and 44 arrests. |
Portland, OR | 107. July 30 | 0 | 115 | A civil rights protest grew violent after a member of the Black Panther Party did not show up. National Guard was put on alert as the rioters roamed through 30 square blocks of the city throwing rocks and smashing store windows. | |
Rivera Beach, FL | 108. July 30 - 31 | 0 | 45 | After a black man was arrested for a fight at a bar, rumors spread that a black man was beaten by police, resulting in 2 days of rioting. Police fired tear gas to break up a rampage of black rioters, while National Guardsmen were called up, but not used. | |
East Palo Alto, CA | 109. July 30 - 31 | 0 | Rocks and bottles were thrown until a patrol of black volunteers calmed the situation. | ||
Milwaukee, WI | 110. July 30 - August 3 | 4 | 100 | 1740 | After police broke up a fight between 2 black women, objects were thrown at them and grew into 5 days of rioting, resulting in 4 dead, 100 injured, and 1740 arrested. |
Wichita, KS | 111. July 31 | 0 | Black rioters fire-bombed two stores and stoned police and motorists. | ||
Erie, PA | 112. July 31 | 0 | One of 3 outbursts of arson and brick-throwing in Erie. | ||
West Palm Beach, FL | 113. July 31 | 0 | 46 | Tear gas was used to break up a mob of approximately 400 blacks. A fire that led to damages of about $350,000 (equivalent to $3,071,756 in 2022) led to the arrest of 46 people under Florida's new tough antiriot law. | |
Denver, CO | 114. July 31 | 0 | 12 | A dozen youths were arrested after a mob of about 100 blacks bombarded police with rocks and bottles after breaking shop windows. | |
Providence, RI | 115. July 31 - August 1 | 0 | 23 | 14 | A 35-block area in the southern, predominately black, area of Providence were sealed after black youths went on a rampage.[42] Riot squads battled snipers and routed rival gangs of whites and Negroes in two days of violence. |
San Bernardino, CA | 116. July 31 - August 4[43] | 0 | 2[43] | 67[43] | Violence hit suburbs of Los Angeles in late July, resulting in the police using a new aerosol tear-gas gun called the Chemical Mace.[18] Unrest began after a crowd of 300 people at a house party were blocking the street which the police broke up.[43] |
Washington D.C. | 117. August 1 | 0 | The nation's capital appeared heading for a riot when bands of black youths went on a midnight rampage, smashing dozens of store windows along H Street NE and setting a dozen small fire safter a rock concert at the old Washington Coliseum.[44] Police, moving in quickly but quietly, restored order before dawn. | ||
Wyandanch, NY | 118. August 1 - | 0 | In business districts of Wyandanch, smashed windows of 3 stores, overturned 2 cars, hurled stones at police, set fires to the auditorium of the (now named) Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School on Mount Avenue, the Wyandanch VFW Hall, and the ambulance garage at South 20th Street and Straight Path throughout several nights of violence. | ||
Sandusky, OH | 119. August 2 | 0 | Black teenagers smashed windows and arsoned two shopping centers after a black home was fire-bombed and several other black homes vandalized by four whites. | ||
Peoria, IL | 120 August 2 - 3[45] | 0 | 4[45] | 7[45] | Police sealed off an open housing project for blacks after snipers fired at police directing traffic around a fire started by a fire bomb.[18] Started after arsonists had set a grocery store on fire.[45] |
Wichita, KS | 121. August 4 | 0 | Black protesters marching on police station and courthouse renewed racial violence in Witchita. | ||
Houston, TX[45] | 122. August 15 - 17 | 0 | 6[45] | Unrest began in Houston after a white male service station attendant shot a black male in an attempted robbery. Snipping and vandalism were reported to have happened.[45] | |
Syracuse, NY[45] | 123. August 16 - 20 | 0 | 186[45] | Syracuse would see civil unrest after a case of police brutality toward an African American man on August 15.[46] Property damages were estimated to be $66,000 equivalent to $579,246 in 2022.[45] | |
New Haven, CT[45] | 124. August 19 - 23 | 0 | 3[45] | 679[45] | Rioting began in New Haven after a Puerto Rican man had approached a restaurant owner with a knife and the restaurant owner shot him. 200 state troopers were called in as reinforcements for the riots and ended up lasting for four days. Most arrests occurred for violating a curfew that lasted for several days.[47] Interference with firefighting was reported and so were 90 cases of arson. About $149,000 equivalent to $1,307,691 in 2022 in property damage was caused.[45] |
See also
References
- Gonsalves, Kelly. "The 'long, hot summer of 1967'". The Week. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
- McLaughlin 2014, p. 1.
- Friedland, Michael B. (1998). Lift Up Your Voice Like a Trumpet: White Clergy and the Civil Rights and Antiwar Movements, 1954–1973. University of North Carolina Press. p. 189. ISBN 9780807846469.
- Bould, Mark; Vint, Sherryl (2011). The Routledge Concise History of Science Fiction. Routledge. p. 105. ISBN 9781136820410.
- McLaughlin 2014, p. 101.
- McLaughlin 2014, p. 39.
- Sullivan, Patricia (2021). Justice Rising: Robert KennedyÕs America in Black and White. Harvard University Press. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-674-73745-7.
The summer of 1967—the "summer of love" for America's youth counterculture—was a "long hot summer" for Black urban Americans, a season of the deadliest and most widespread racial strife in US history. Racial clashes, disorders, and rebellions erupted in an estimated 164 cities in thirty-four states, bringing the nation's crisis to a boil.
- Gonsalves, Kelly. "The 'long, hot summer of 1967'". theweek.com. The Week.
- Purna Kambhampaty, Anna (June 11, 2020). "How American Power Dynamics Have Shaped Perceptions of Looting, From the Boston Tea Party to Today". Time.
- McLay 2018.
- Graham, Fred P. (July 8, 1967). "Restraint urged in race riot news; U.S. Officials Seek Delays Pending Police Action". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
Washington, July 7-- Officials of the Justice Department have been quietly meeting with news media representatives in racially tense cities to urge restraint in reporting racial outbursts, a department spokesman said today.
- Burnham, David (December 30, 1967). "New urban riots foreseen in U.S.; Psychologist Contends No Effective Deterrent Exists". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
There is no effective deterrent or antidote for the kind of Negro riots that have swept through the North in recent years, and such outbursts will continue "until the well of available cities runs dry," a research psychologist said yesterday.
- "The Long Hot Summer: Riots in 1967". ropercenter.cornell.edu. ROPER Center for Public Opinion Research. August 28, 2017.
- McLay 2018, pp. 1096–1097.
- McLay 2018, p. 1100.
- McLay 2018, p. 1109–1110.
- Semple Jr., Robert B. (August 11, 1967). "RIOT PANEL URGES GUARD TO STEP UP NEGRO RECRUITING; Johnson Commission Calls Percentage Low and Asks 'Deficiency' Be Corrected PENTAGON IS INFORMED President Sends Report to McNamara as Matter for His Immediate Attention". The New York Times. pp. 1 & 34. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- "Race Troubles: 109 U.S. Cities Faced Violence in 1967". U.S. News & World Report. July 12, 2017 [August 14, 1967]. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- "The Nashville Race Riot (1967)". The Royal Gazette (Bermuda). February 25, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- "History - MLK Jr. visits Louisville in the '60s". The Courier-Journal. January 16, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- "No marker recognizes Ben Brown's killing on JSU campus". The Clarion-Ledger. May 12, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- "Youth Rioting Hits Playland". Madera Tribune. May 15, 1967. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- "The TSU Riot, 50 years later". Houston Chronicle. May 16, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- "30 Arrested in Chicago Melee At Service Honoring Malcolm X; 'White People Invaded' Negro Undercoverman". The New York Times. May 22, 1967. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- "The forgotten riot that sparked Boston's racial unrest". The Boston Globe. June 2, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- Proceedings and Debates of the 90th Congress First Session. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1967. p. 19335 – via Google Books.
- "Violence in Alabama". The New York Times. June 12, 1967. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- "The Legacy of the Cincinnati Strangler". Cincinnati Magazine. August 1997. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- "Two Ohio Cities Are Focal Point of Overnight Racial Disorders". Reading Eagle. June 15, 1967. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- "Stones Thrown at Police At Los Angeles Fire Site". The New York Times. June 13, 1967. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- Proceedings and Debates of the 90th Congress First Session. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1967. p. 20198 – via Google Books.
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- Cyr, Jared (June 29, 2018). "HARTFORD RACE RIOTS". Hartford through Time. University of Connecticut. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
- "NEGROES IN NYACK SMASH WINDOWS; 18 Arrested in Disturbance Linked to Jersey Violence". The New York Times. July 20, 1967. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
- "Fire and Explosions Strike Youngstown In Racial Violence". The New York Times. July 23, 1967. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
- "Michigan State Insurance Commission estimate of December, 1967, quoted in the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders AKA Kerner Report". 1968-02-09. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- "Grand Rapids 1967 riot: When anger, oppression erupted into 'chaos'". MLive Media Group. July 18, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
- "MT. VERNON IS HIT BY NEW VIOLENCE; Mayor Declares Emergency Exists After Looting". The New York Times. July 27, 1967. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- "1,000 Guardsmen Sent to Quiet South Bend, Ind.; Carfew Fails to Calm City Bands of Youthful Negroes Roam Streets 2d Night". The New York Times. July 27, 1967. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- RIOTS, CIVIL AND CRIMINAL DISORDERS: HEARINGS BEFORE THE PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE (PDF). United States Government Publishing Office. 1968.
- "NEWBURGH RALLY ENDS IN VIOLENCE; 30 Negroes Are Arrested in Rampage After Argument at a Neo-Nazi Meeting NEWBURGH BESET BY RACE VIOLENCE". The New York Times. July 30, 1967. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
- "Police Seal Area in Providence After Negro Youths' Rampage". The New York Times. August 1, 1967. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
- Staff Study of Major Riots and Civil Disorders, 1965 Through July 31, 1968. Vol. 74–76. United States Government Printing Office. 1968. pp. 12 & 13 – via Google Books.
- "In segregated D.C., few officials feared rioting. They had not considered the suffering of black residents". The Washington Post. March 27, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
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- Croyle, Johnathan (June 10, 2020). "1967: After claims of police brutality, downtown Syracuse witnesses scenes of rioting and looting (vintage photos)". Syracuse.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- O'Leary, Mary; Stannard, Ed; Abdul-Karim, Shahid (August 12, 2017). "1967 riots: 4 tense days that began 'evolution' of blacks". New Haven Register (Digital). Retrieved March 18, 2023.
Bibliography
- McLaughlin, Malcolm (2014). The Long, Hot Summer of 1967: Urban Rebellion in America. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781137269638.
- McLay, Mark (2018). "The Republican Party and the Long, Hot Summer of 1967 in the United States". The Historical Journal. Cambridge University Press. 61 (4): 1089–1111. doi:10.1017/S0018246X17000504. S2CID 159854923.
Further reading
- Michael Omi and Howard Winant, Racial formation in the United States: from the 1960s to the 1990s (1994)
- Walter C. Rucker and James N. Upton, eds. Encyclopedia of American Race Riots (2007) 930 pages –