“Burn, Baby, Burn!”, is one of the many things that could be heard by rioters in Watts, California of the year 1965. They were racially motivated riots that occurred in the U.S. from around the mid-1960s to the early 1970s in black communities all around the United States. The 1960s riots were involved in and started by civil rights supporters, most of which were African American. They were mostly violent riots that caused death, looting, police brutality and arson in the black communities.The riots were caused by the frustration of African Americans because of the very slow pace to get the rights that they wanted. In America, the 1960s race riots were full of illegal and dangerous actions that were caused by many factors. Unfortunately these …show more content…
actions led to hundreds of people dying across the nation. During The Riots Most of the rioting happened from about 1965 to around 1971. overall there were more than 750 riots that happened in a total of forty-three cities such as Watts, Detroit, and Newark. The riots included looting and burning, along with many deaths and injuries that lasted for many days at a time. The most violent riots were in Detroit and Watts where it was so bad that eventually President Johnson had to send in federal troops to try and get order and peace. There were 15,000 separate cases of arson that were also happening within the riots. The rioters not only assaulted caucasian people walking by and overturned their cars, but they threw stones, bricks and fired rifles at law enforcement. Many people that participated in these were just ordinary people that were upset with the government and how society was. Cause Of The Riots One of the causes of these riots was that some black city neighborhoods were frustrated by the slow progress pace of civil rights and decided to got violent. Then the assassinations of important Civil Rights supporters, such as Martin Luther King Jr., didn’t help with the riots and only caused for more to break out in black communities. African Americans saw that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 didn’t help with others issues they were having with factors such as poverty, unemployment and abuse by white police officers. Racial violence and resentment in the North seemed to help create and fuel these riots in black communities all over America. Effects Of The Riots The riots impacted many factors, which include the economy, homes and businesses, also the civil rights movement as a whole.
This was done by showing the government that they want more to be done and much faster. After Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, it was confirmed, by the Kerner Commision, that America was splitting into two unequal and separate groups; one black and one white. The governor of Illinois, Otto Kerner, did a report on why the riots were happening. Otto Kerner's report suggested changes that could be made to American society, government and also businesses. Though his ideas were generally ignored by the population and the government. Social scientists had begun to collect data and analyze possible causes of the riots as soon as they started. Though many didn’t even think about the long-term consequences that could happen. There ended up being over 750 riots that caused 228 deaths and 12,741 others that were injured. Since these riots erupted, Martin Luther King Jr. started to see his dream turn into more of a nightmare. After his assassination, it was confirmed, by the Kerner Commision, that America was splitting into two unequal and separate groups; one black and one white. African Americans had seemed to lose their fear and caused for the freedom movement to lose its peacefulness. The feeling in African American communities was that of pride, even though most people that died in the riots were African American. Multiple African Americans had started
to see the riots and movements as more of freedom based instead of trying to reform civil rights. These activists also started to confront the consequences of racial abuse in the economy, culture and in politics. Unfortunately hundreds of people died because of the illegal and dangerous actions that occurred during the 1960s race riots in the United States of America. Most likely the riots were not caused by one side, but many sides are at fault. For example, the government wasn’t working as hard as they could of been to further civil rights legislation, therefore the people had a right to do something about it. Many in the black community were frustrated at the people in the government. However, the activists could have handled their reaction much better than committing the violence that they did. It must be said that the white people are at fault for slavery and putting the whole “mess” into action. Much of the situation was a result of their greed, laziness and selfish behavior. All of these groups had something to do with the reason the riots started and all of them should take that blame.
also exemplifies a compassionate leader, but another leadership quality of King’s was his unmatched trustworthiness amongst the black people of the 1950’s and 60’s. Martin Luther King Jr. lived during a time of severe segregation and hate toward the African-American people of the United States. Many African-American civil rights activists- such as Reverend George Lee, Lamar Smith, and NAACP State Director Medgar Evers- were victims of gruesome murders due to their efforts in the Civil Rights Movement (Austin, 2002). Martin Luther King Jr. too was killed as a result of his efforts as one of the leaders of the movement, and every time that King organized a demonstration, his followers also risked their lives by participating. Their trust in Martin Luther King Jr.’s non-violent demonstrations was eventually rewarded, as now the African-American people comprise an important part of
To accomplish this, the Kerner Commission visited riot cities, spoke with witnesses and sought out help from other professionals. According to this documentary, 126 cities were hit and broken by these major race riots. The two main cities were Detroit, Michigan and Newark, New Jersey. 82% of the deaths and over half of the injuries occurred in these two cities. Towards the end, as the tension and conflict really thicken, the president even had to send in the army to put a halt to this violence that was corrupting our cities and nation. Yet, this riots were not your “typical” riots, they were described as unusual, unpredictable, irregular and complex. According to a study, most rioters were young black men, between the ages of 15-24 and about 74% were brought up from the south. In context to the documentary and the report, these riots were brought on by actions and responses of police force, local officials and the National Guard. This idea was brought about because some black people thought of the police as just a sign of white privilege and power. However, according to citizens in Milwaukee, Wisconsin they were “protests because of the loss of jobs.” But the youngest commission chair, who was featured in the documentary, Fred Harris, disagrees and says that they were not protests, there was no planning with a clear goal in
During the years 1992 and 2000, a series of developments and events occurred that changed the way America functions. Of these events, two stuck out in the minds of many people as the national news coverage was hard to ignore. These two events that occurred resulted in many changes, Rodney King and the Los Angeles riots of 1992 and the disputed election of 2000. It proves that one person can be the reason behind an event that will cause local and national governments and officials to stop and think of the consequences, both negative and positive.
Particularly during the Vietnam War, tensions had been brewing over civil rights and pacifist movements, often headed by young people or students who felt that the government were not listening to their opinions and interests. With the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, racial tensions came to a head, sparking riots and animosity towards the government, who some perceived as countering or hindering the civil rights movement. The police and National Guard reacted violently to these riots, and in the case of student protests, many of which were peaceful, such during as the 1970 Kent State ‘Massacre’ where four were killed and nine injured during an anti-war demonstration. This was particularly damning as unarmed students were killed, and the reaction was immense. The Kent State ‘Massacre’ made it clear that to many social dynamics, the police, and by extension the government, were becoming the
Chicago Riots Have you ever felt as if your government is doing the wrong thing? During the Democratic National Convention in 1968, an estimate of 5-7K protesters were not happy with the results on what was happening in the government. So a group called Yippies started an organized protest. They started to have riots in places like Chicago, where soon after the police came in and started to relentlessly beat the protesters with billy clubs.
under "force" the use of threat of violence by any party or institution to atta...
The Newark riots of 1967 were very extreme and terrible time in Newark, New Jersey, one of the worst in U.S. history. The riots were between African-Americans and white residents, police officers and the National Guard. The riots were not unexpected. The tension between the city grew tremendously during the 1960's, due to lack of employment for Blacks, inadequate housing, police brutality and political exclusion of blacks from government.
A Look Into the Chicago Race Riots The Civil War was fought over the “race problem,” to determine the place of African-Americans in America. The Union won the war and freed the slaves. However, when President Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation, a hopeful promise for freedom from oppression and slavery for African-Americans, he refrained from announcing the decades of hardship that would follow to obtaining the new “freedom”. Over the course of nearly a century, African-Americans would be deprived and face adversity to their rights.
The Chicago riot was the most serious of the multiple that happened during the Progressive Era. The riot started on July 27th after a seventeen year old African American, Eugene Williams, did not know what he was doing and obliviously crossed the boundary of a city beach. Consequently, a white man on the beach began stoning him. Williams, exhausted, could not get himself out of the water and eventually drowned. The police officer at the scene refused to listen to eyewitness accounts and restrained from arresting the white man. With this in mind, African Americans attacked the police officer. As word spread of the violence, and the accounts distorted themselves, almost all areas in the city, black and white neighborhoods, became informed. By Monday morning, everyone went to work and went about their business as usual, but on their way home, African Americans were pulled from trolleys and beaten, stabbed, and shot by white “ruffians”. Whites raided the black neighborhoods and shot people from their cars randomly, as well as threw rocks at their windows. In retaliation, African Americans mounted sniper ambushes and physically fought back. Despite the call to the Illinois militia to help the Chicago police on the fourth day, the rioting did not subside until the sixth day. Even then, thirty eight
...s. In both cases people in poverty didn’t have many opportunities coming their way. Although the riots were twenty seven years apart they both shared the same problems. People living in both communities did not have many resources available to them. In those twenty seven years, buildings in those areas were still rundown and many jobs weren’t available. Schools were still not on the same level as those in advantaged areas. What if African Americans were given better jobs and education? If they had received both the riots would not have started. They would have not felt oppressed and let anger just grow inside. Once the resentment started growing, it was only a matter of time before a riot broke out. In both riots you can see how the LAPD’s heavy hand was involved. African Americans were not receiving the same justice as the Caucasian residents of Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles riots were a release of pressure that had build up from the innocent charging of Officer Laurence M. Powell and other Police officers that "Used excessive force" on Rodney King on March 3, 1991, but that was not the only reason.(8) In the words of a singer singing about the riots "They said it was for the black man, they said it was for the Mexican, but not for the white man, but if you look at the streets it wasn't about Rodney King, It's bout this f****d up situation and the f****n' police."(9) Did the riots even have anything to do with King? Was King a minor reason for this to happen, or did King put the level of pressure right over the top? Whatever way you see it, the fact is that on April 29, 1992, anarchy was set free in Los Angeles and before the papers could write about the happenings in this city of angels, the writing on the walls could tell it all.
On the morning of March 3rd, 1991 an African-American man led police on a high-speed chase through the city of Los Angeles. Approximately eight miles later police swarmed around the car and confronted the driver, who went by the name Rodney King. During the confrontation, officers tortured King until the point he was forced to seek medical care. A case was opened and the police officers were acquitted. This angered many people, specifically Blacks and led to the historical “L.A. Riots’’ , where they felt race had something to do with the case.
Even though whites and blacks protested together, not all of them got punished in the same ways. Even though it wasn’t folderol committed by either race, racists saw it as this and would do anything to keep segregation intact. Sometimes, the whites would be shunned, by society, and not hurt physically. While the blacks, on the other hand, were brutally kille...
If you grew up in the 60s’, it was a time where major protest groups began to appear all over the place with one protest or another against things like the war, women’s rights, school protests, etc. But in the 60s, there was one of these groups that want to fight for equity and that group was the civil rights group. Therefore, even though the civil rights group began in the 50’s it did not really come into the forefront until the 1960s, where they emerged and greatly expanded in the 1960s. This group was the first movement group of the 1960s-era social movements. This movement was also responsible for producing one of the most significant American social activists every of the 20th century, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Watts riots is one of the most important riots in the many important riots that have occurred in the United States. Thousands of African-Americans, fed up with the horrible police brutality at the time, reacted by battling the police in the streets along with the looting and burning of White-owned stores. The riot was unprecedented, but not unexpected, during a time of great racial tension, with the Civil Rights Movement having become an ever-increasing strain on the country. Police brutality was not the only factor in causing the riot, as there were economic problems in the Black community at the time that also contributed to the unrest. The Watts riot, also known as the Watts Rebellion, influenced riots to come in the decades following