What is a race riot?
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A race riot, in it's simplest terms, is a riot that involves the issue of race. There is more to defining a race riot than just this, though. There first has to be at least 40 people present for it to be considered a riot. Many people imagine riots at a much larger scale, but it is not always the case. Also, for it to be considered a riot there must be violence. Someone must be injured or killed, severe property damage, or the intent to harm or injure.Riots must also last for a substantial amount of time. If a fight is immediately broken up by law enforcement, then it is not considered a riot. What makes a riot racial is when a racial grievance is apparent through the actions and words of the rioters. The rioters have to specifically attack a certain racial group when rioting in order for it to be considered a race riot. Many race riots happened through out the 1960s in places like Detroit, Los Angeles, and New Jersey.
Detroit Riots
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In 1967, Detroit seemed like a success story for African Americans because they were in high paying jobs in many of Detroit's factories, they owned many of the city's homes, and many had attained political power, but this was only a facade. Underneath there was a lot of unrest. The unemployment rate for African American's was 11% which was double the national average and there was a substantial amount of crime in the city, which caused for many African American's to fear for their lives. This unrest caused the event that happened on July 23, 1967 to become a major race riot that changed Detroit's history forever. On this night Detroit police raided a bar and arrested about 80 people. Many African Americans were upset by this. They started to gather in a large group and began throw rocks and bottles at the police. The police did not want the conflict so they decided to do nothing in order to avoid the violence. The amount of rioters grew and grew as they moved throughout the city burning and robbing many buildings and white owned stores. The rioters, eventually, became so large that they vastly outnumbered the Detroit police force of about 4,000. The governor at this time, George Romney, set a 9 pm curfew for residents so they would not be harmed at night and he called in the State Police and the National Guard. This only made the riot worse because they were not trained on how to handle a riot so they often shot at everything, no knowing if the person they shot was a rioter or innocent bystander. Many people fled the city or crowded refugee centers in order to get away from the dangerous riot. Almost all of the businesses closed, which left Detroit paralyzed. Since what Governor Romney had done was not working, he went to President Lydon B. Johnson and asked him to send in federal troops. President Johnson did and they were able to contain the rioters back to the area in which the riot had first started, but then there were about 100 rioting snipers who went on rooftops. They shot police, National Guard members, a firefighter, and many innocent people. The riot, eventually, subsided, but there was a lot of damage to the city. It was estimated that the riots destroyed $45 million worth of property. There were 43 people injured, about 1,000 people injured, and over 4,000 arrested. Out of the 43 dead only 8 were white. This riot severely harmed Detroit's image, economy, and future.
Los Angeles Riot
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In Los Angeles in a mainly black populated area in 1965 ,a white police officer used force in order to detain an African American man who had been drunk driving. A small crowd had gathered but it did not turn violent until a police office attempted to arrest a woman whom he had thought spit on him. The crowd became angry and started to throw bottles and rock at cars and windows. The police and rioters were all at it all night and it spread out of the city to neighboring cities. The police realized that their presence was making the rioting worse so they decided to leave, but this did not stop the rioters. They pushed over the news vans of reporters, set buildings on fire, even if they were owned by African Americans and they supported their rioting efforts. No one was safe from the riots. "Burn, Baby Burn" became the motto of the L.A. rioters. The riots lasted for a few more days so they L.A. police finally called in the National Guard, in order to contain the riots. The riot became so intense that Martial law, which is when the military rules over a civilian area, was imposed in a large area of L.A. and surrounding cities. The destruction of the city was devastating. There were 34 dead, more than 1,000 people injured, hundreds of buildings damaged or completely destroyed. The property damage was estimated to be $40 million dollars.
Newark Riot
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In Newark, New Jersey on July 12, 1967 a police officer arrested and beat a black cabdriver. A crowd gathered to protest the event, but they then became unruly and refused to leave after the police asked them to leave. The police then used force to break up the crowd, which angered many people so they began to rob nearby stores. The next day, another protest happened to protest the police brutality. The police used force again to break up the protest, but they revolted and started robbing stores and burning buildings. The National Guard was called in to help control the riot. I lasted 5 days and at the end 23 people had been killed and there was about $10 million in property damage.