THE DETROIT RIOT OF 1967
"The Swinging Sixties" were a point in time that noticeably marked the beginning of Detroit's decline, for many reasons. Detroit began to lose its foothold as an industrial powerhouse as more factories were shut down in lieu of newer, sprawled infrastructure. Skilled workers left accordingly, and for the first time in Detroit's history, the suburban population outnumbered that of the city [1]. The city's population had also transformed, having gone from a 90% white population in the 1940 to a 70% white population [2]. Industry and life in Detroit otherwise continued as had become normal, but this meant that the same problems persisted as well. This industrial inertia that carried Detroit through previous hardships would soon lead to one of the most pivotal events in the city's history.
12th Street before the 1967 Riot
In the early hours of July 23rd, 1967, black patrons of a blind pig on 12th street were allegedly holding a celebration for two veterans returning from the Vietnam war. The unlicensed nightclub was soon raided by police officers, and the confrontation escalated to violence when bystanders began throwing projectiles like bottles towards the police. 12th street quickly became the epicenter of the largest riot in Detroit's history, as fighting, looting, and fire spread throughout the city. Police forces, firemen, and even fellow members of the community were unable to put an end to the chaos for four days. Once again, federal forces were called into Detroit to restore the peace. By the time the riot had been quelled, there had been 43 deaths, over 7,000 injuries, and over 2,000 torched and looted businesses [3].
12th Street in the aftermath of the 1967 Riot
Much like the riot that preceded it, the 1967 riot was due to multiple causes which all contributed to the discontent of Detroit residents. The underlying problem of racism in Detroit, if not the entire country, had obviously remained in place. This is evidenced by the rise of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, which rallied many black communities to action in one way or another. Two starkly contrasting pictures were painted by the peaceful protests such as those led by Martin Luther King Jr. and the violent outbursts of discontent which erupted. For example, in 1965 the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles plunged into rioting and arson after the attempted arrest of a black resident. The Watts neighborhood was heavily segregated despite the times, with a high school student body that was still 99% black. Education and many other aspects of life in Watts were found to be sub-par, and Los Angeles was one of the few cities that still hadn't implemented federally funded anti-poverty programs. Bayard Rustin, a leader of the Civil Rights movement, commented on the Watts riot "...People who feel a part of the structure do not attack it [4]." Only a few days before the outbreak of rioting in Detroit, Newark, New Jersey experienced several days of race riots after the arrest of a black cab driver. This implies that much like Newark, the black population of Detroit was also beginning to realize the disparity between their lives and those of white residents. Given the persistent, ubiquitous prejudice found in Detroit, the 1967 riot was almost certainly inevitable.
"People who feel a part of the structure do not attack it.” - Bayard Rustin
Even in the nigh-unprecedented chaos of the 1967 riots, one event in particular shocked the entire nation with its cruelty. On the third night of rioting, city, state, and federal forces suspected that snipers were hiding in the annex of the Algiers Motel. After entering, they found ten black men and two white women but no weapons. By the time the police left the building after questioning, three of the men had been shot dead and the remainder beaten. The events were sensationalized when John Hersey, a journalist, released a book titled "The Algiers Motel Incident," after interviewing survivors and kin of the victims. The following trial also raised controversy when the accused officer, Ronald August, was acquitted. Many objected to the decisions made by Judge William Beer, who first moved the trial to a location which would produce a white jury. He then continued to instruct the jury to decide "all or nothing," specifically that they could only rule "innocent" or "guilty of first degree murder [5]." Police brutality had already been a documented issue in previous race riots, and the majority of deaths during the riots of Newark and Detroit were caused by law-keeping authorities. However, the events which transpired at the Algiers Motel and their aftermath brought the issue to even more national attention.
National Guard in Detroit following the riot
The magnitude of violence and destruction exhibited in as important of a city as Detroit was bound to have many unforeseen consequences, both short term and in the grand scale of the nation's future. Detroit's white population had already begun leaving the city in favor of the surrounding suburbs, but the 1967 riot arguably started the massive migration that was coined "white flight." As skilled workers left, so did many employment opportunities as well as much-needed city revenue from taxes. Those who remained were left with a scarred city, more eager to assign blame than to rebuild. The Detroit riot also incensed the black communities of many more cities, as was proven in 1968 when over 125 American cities, including Chicago, Washington DC, and Baltimore, erupted in riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Junior. In the following years, cities would begin to assemble riot control forces, rather than address the issue at the source [6]. Fortunately, one of the positive outcomes of the 1967 Detroit riot was the development of a tool to assess the cause of a riot in its aftermath. The Detroit Free Press, in an attempt to find quantifiable data on the riot, created a set of neutral questions to be asked of residents in a riot-stricken area. The survey suggested that the black community of Detroit had many grievances, and those who participated were spurred on in the emotional flurry of a mob. While these results could have offered valuable insight to city officials on preventing future riots, they were largely ignored in favor of scapegoating [7].
Sources used:
1: Metzger, Kurt. “The Demographics of Metropolitan Detroit,” Detroit Orientation Institute, Wayne State University, October 16 2007, doi.wayne.edu/pdf/kurt_metzger_-_demographic_presentationoct_2007.pdf
2: “Table 23. Michigan - Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Large Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990.” United States Census Bureau, United States Government, July 13, 2005, www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/MItab.pdf
3: Evans, Howie. "HBO documents the 1967 riots and the role of baseball's Detroit Tigers." New York Amsterdam News 25 July 2002: 41. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.
4: Rothman, Lily. "50 Years After Watts: The Causes Of A Riot." Time.Com (2015): N.PAG. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.
5: Kaplan, Kalman J., and Roger I. Simon. “Latitude and Severity of Sentencing Options, Race of the Victim and Decisions of Simulated Jurors: Some Issues Arising from the ‘Algiers Motel’ Trial.” Law &Amp; Society Review, vol. 7, no. 1, 1972, pp. 87–98. www.jstor.org/stable/3052830.
6: Risen, Clay. “The Legacy of the 1968 Riots,” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media Limited, April 4 2008, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/apr/04/thelegacyofthe1968riots
7: Meyer, Philip E. "A Newspaper's Role Between The Riots." Nieman Reports 53/54.4/1 (1999): 144. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.
1: Metzger, Kurt. “The Demographics of Metropolitan Detroit,” Detroit Orientation Institute, Wayne State University, October 16 2007, doi.wayne.edu/pdf/kurt_metzger_-_demographic_presentationoct_2007.pdf
2: “Table 23. Michigan - Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Large Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990.” United States Census Bureau, United States Government, July 13, 2005, www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/MItab.pdf
3: Evans, Howie. "HBO documents the 1967 riots and the role of baseball's Detroit Tigers." New York Amsterdam News 25 July 2002: 41. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.
4: Rothman, Lily. "50 Years After Watts: The Causes Of A Riot." Time.Com (2015): N.PAG. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.
5: Kaplan, Kalman J., and Roger I. Simon. “Latitude and Severity of Sentencing Options, Race of the Victim and Decisions of Simulated Jurors: Some Issues Arising from the ‘Algiers Motel’ Trial.” Law &Amp; Society Review, vol. 7, no. 1, 1972, pp. 87–98. www.jstor.org/stable/3052830.
6: Risen, Clay. “The Legacy of the 1968 Riots,” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media Limited, April 4 2008, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/apr/04/thelegacyofthe1968riots
7: Meyer, Philip E. "A Newspaper's Role Between The Riots." Nieman Reports 53/54.4/1 (1999): 144. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.