Oral+History+Research

THE DETROIT RACE RIOTS

In the summer of 1967 many brutal and violent riots broke out in cities but the most extreme was in Detroit. It all started in Detroit when police vice squad officers executed an illegal after hours drinking club in a predominantly black neighborhood. The police squad found 82 people in this "blind-pig" celebrating a return of two Vietnam veterans. Once many of those people were arrested a group of people in a ,form of protest, broke the windows of a clothing store adjacent to the bar.

After that small uprising the severity of the riots elevated. But these bigger riots were not just about getting kicked out of a bar. They were about political, economic, and social factors including police abuse, lack of affordable housing, urban renewal projects, economic inequality, black militancy, and rapid demographic change. For example Rev. Albert Cleage exclaimed "This is a racial incident... it represents one simple thing: black people want control of black communities."

The roits went on for five days. Fires burnt thruoghout the city, the damage done cost around $500 dollars.The major of Detroit explained that the black and white communities were very separate and unequal. In the End of the riots 43 people were killed, and 1,189 injured. Still today you can see the aftermath of the roits with abononed, burnt down houses thoughout the entire city.