Introduction
The Newark and Detroit “riots” of 1967 were arguably the two most severe manifestations in a wave of urban unrest that swept through American cities between
1964 and 1969. With the exception of the Watts Riot of 1965, the events that took
place in Newark and Detroit during the summer of 1967 caused more deaths and
destruction of property than any other civil disturbances of that period and rank
among the worst cases of civil disorder in all of American history. Unlike the events
in Harlem (1964) or Watts (1965), which affected only one portion of their respective cities, the episodes of urban unrest in Newark and Detroit were not confined
to a single area. Rather, their effects were felt strongly throughout these two cities,
and reverberated throughout the entire nation. As a result, the events that took
place in Newark and Detroit in July 1967 have had long-term consequences that
extend beyond the immediate impact of the civil disorders themselves.
For Newark and Detroit, as well as several cities that experienced urban
unrest during the 1960s, the aforementioned events were pivotal moments in their
unmaking—accelerating urban decay and stigmatizing these cities for decades to
come. These former industrial powerhouses, once considered “arsenals of democracy” which had held an important place in the pantheon of American cities, were
now redefined in the national imagination as the locus of murder and mayhem,
emblematic of all that is wrong with urban America. As cities inhabited primarily by impoverished African Americans, surrounded by more affluent and whiter
suburbs, Newark and Detroit now serve as potent reminder of the racial and class
divide in America.
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While civic leaders and citizens in the two cities seek to bring about a new
vision of economic and cultural renaissance, they continually grapple with the
legacy of the 1960s. Although it has been over forty years since the events of
July 1967, there remains much disagreement among current and former residents
regarding the nature of those events and, more critically, how they impact on each
city’s future. Despite sporadic efforts to commemorate the events of 1967, no clear
consensus has developed regarding the truth about what happened during those
times. There have been only fledgling attempts to reconcile the diverse viewpoints
held by those whose lives were affected and continue to be affected by what happened during that long hot summer.
Notwithstanding the rhetoric of “renaissance” promulgated by civic boosters
and city officials, Newark and Detroit remain deeply divided communities haunted
by their “troubled pasts”. (Edy 2006) On the one hand, both cities have shown
flashes of renewed economic and cultural development which are indicative of their
potential to surmount adversity. Yet, in the absence of concerted debate and dialogue regarding the nature of the events that occurred in the 1960s, there remains
a gap in understanding among the various factions who serve as stakeholders in
the future of these cities.
If the past four decades serve as an example, the lack of such dialogue and
debate has stymied the progress of these cities, thereby limiting the scope and
impact of the long awaited renaissance. In place of a concerted planning effort that
embraces the needs of all residents, economic development in Newark and Detroit
has taken place on a piecemeal basis with an emphasis on large-scale projects like
new sporting venues at the expense of indigenous small businesses which contribute to the social fabric of the community. While a great deal of attention has been
placed on revitalizing the central business districts, less attention has been paid to
the neighborhoods that bore the brunt of the destruction during the summer of
1967. In a similar vein, city schools systems and public transit systems, which serve
predominantly poor people who lack viable alternatives, continue to suffer from
neglect. Despite some notable improvements in quality of life, both cities remain in
the thrall of uneven development and post-industrial decay. Most of the underlying structural factors which sparked unrest in the 1960s e.g. unemployment, lack
of affordable housing, poor schooling, and negative encounters between police and
civilians are still present in the two cities. Yet, signs pointing to the potential for
future unrest go unheeded. If there are lessons to be learned from the events of the
1967, it is not clear that we have learned them.
While some of the aforementioned problems may be attributable to the
dynamics of the larger national economy, particularly the shift from manufacturing
to technology and services and the tectonic shift of population away from cities to
suburbs, the fate of these cities, I argue, was anything but foretold. The decline of
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these once great cities, and their unrealized prospects for recovery, are not merely a
matter of economics. Rather their present malaise has much to do with the decades
old ruptures in their social fabric that have not yet healed.
To the extent that Newark and Detroit continue to struggle with their troubled pasts, these cities are both a manifestation and metaphor for the decline of
American cities in general and for the persistence of racial inequality as a defining
feature of modern American life. Several American cities, particularly those with
majority black residential populations, have suffered greatly as a result of white
flight, disinvestment, and de-industrialization in the decades following the 1960s.
These processes have led to an increasing concentration of poor black people in
these cities who are becoming more and more isolated from mainstream American
society and economy. In 1968, the National Advisory Commission on Civil
Disorders, alternatively known as the Kerner Commission, warned, “Our nation
is moving toward two societies, one black, one white-separate and unequal”. Yet
despite such expressions of concern over the past 40 years since that commission
was first convened, the metropolitan regions encompassing cities like Newark and
Detroit have become more, rather than less, segregated and the black poor who
are concentrated in these cities have become more isolated from the mainstream.
This trend, while again not directly attributable to the “riots”, was both accelerated and deepened by those events, such that entire city neighborhoods were
abandoned after the “riots” and have still not been rebuilt. Whether the destruction was wrought by natural disaster, as was the case recently in New Orleans, or
by “civil insurrection” such as in Newark and Detroit in 1967, the consequences
have been largely similar. In both cases the images of lawlessness and disorder that
dominated media portrayals of those events have exacerbated fears of racially based
crime and violence, intensifying the abandonment and neglect of these cities by
those who have fled to the immediate suburbs and surrounding “edge cities”.
For some current residents who have remained involved in these cities and for
others who have long since left, it is tempting to look back nostalgically and hope
that these cities will experience a return to their former glory. Yet even during their
respective “golden age” there were deep structural divisions of race and class which
contributed to the building up of tensions that erupted in the civil unrest of the
1960s. Any effort to revitalize these cities must be conscious of the fact that the
“good old days” might not have been so good for everyone and that racial fault lines
lurked beneath the surface of those presumably happier times. If the events of 1967
came as a surprise to some who lived relatively comfortable lives away from the
shadows of racism, they were fully expected and anticipated by others who directly
experienced the racially based injustices of the time.
The events of the 1960s are best understood if they are placed in a larger context of striving and competition among racial and ethnic groups for a place at the
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table and a “piece of the pie”. No discussion of these events can afford to bypass
issues of segregation and institutional discrimination faced by people of color. Nor
should it make light of their efforts to overcome the long lasting legacy of racism
in America and in American cities. Yet a dialogue regarding these events must also
take seriously the perspectives of non-minority groups such as Jews and Italians
who in some cases witnessed the destruction of their family owned businesses and
felt compelled to move from their neighborhoods in the wake of the civil unrest.
In contrast to the narrative of “empowerment” advanced by black political activists
there is a corresponding sense of loss felt by white merchants and residents whose
memories of the “old neighborhood” are sharply differentiated from their notions
of what the city is today.
On the one hand, many white people who left the cities remain captivated by
nostalgic yearnings for an often unspoken form of racial supremacy that remained
in force prior to the “riots”. For them, the “riots”, which they attribute to the “militancy” of mostly black political “agitators”, ruined “their” city. By contrast black
political activists, whose actions are now celebrated as having led to the political
empowerment of black people, confront questions regarding their stewardship
of the city. Looking back, these activists lament the passing of a strong sense of
racial solidarity and purpose which they associate with the heady days of “rebellion”. They often castigate the present generation of youth for the presumed lack
of awareness or interest in the historical struggles of their people. Yet neither the
white ethnics who live in self-imposed exile from the city nor the passing generation of black “militants” who now cling to positions of power in the two cities seem
willing to hold themselves accountable what took place in the 1960s. Enveloped
in their own memories and perceptions about what happened during the summer
of rage, they have yet to acknowledge one another’s struggles and suffering. Until
all actors, black and white, young and old, rich and poor, are ready to reinvestigate
the past and to recognize one another’s common humanity, the rupture in the civic
fabric of these cities that resulted from the violence sown during the summer of
1967 cannot be repaired.
Recent commemorative events which took place in Newark and Detroit on
the respective 40th anniversaries of the events, which were attended by political
officials, family members of those who were killed, as well as a broad spectrum
of local residents, offer some basis for hope. These commemorations attest to an
ongoing process of healing, but the breach remains wide. Much work still needs
to be done. For a lasting reconciliation to happen, which I argue is the precursor
to a real renaissance, the stories that members of these distinct “communities of
memory” tell one another about the events of 1967 must be shared, sifted, sorted,
and heard so that members of these diverse groups, divided in their perceptions of
these same historical events, may ultimately be able to find some sense of common
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ground. Only then will they be able to work together for the sake of the city as a
whole.
The purpose of this book is thus to utilize information gathered from oral
history interviews to explore the full range of memories and meanings expressed
in the collective recollections of individuals who witnessed the events of July 1967
firsthand. By doing so I hope to chart the impact of these contested memories on
the civic life of these respective communities and assess the prospects for reconciliation and healing in these scarred and stigmatized cities. By presenting the diverse
perspectives of ordinary people who were swept up in the course of these extraordinary events, I hope this book plays some part in this endeavor.
Chapter One-“Hells Breaks Loose”-seeks to immerse the reader in the events
as they unfolded. It paints a broad picture of how seemingly isolated incidents
turned into full-fledged episodes of urban unrest in Newark and Detroit. This
chapter is framed by interviews in which respondents describe where they were
and what they were doing at the time when they first realized or experienced that
something extraordinary was happening in their city. Focusing on personal narratives, backed by official police and government documents, this chapter examines the incidents that sparked the conflagration in these two cities, describes
the diffusion of violence throughout the cities, and discusses the role that police
tactics played in shaping the development of these events. Ultimately this chapter
addresses the proximate causes of the “riots” and how the police and government
officials lost control of their respective cities.
Chapter Two-“Predictable Insurrections”-provides essential background on
the root causes of urban unrest in Newark and Detroit, examining the structural
and cultural factors that helped set the stage for widespread collective violence.
Integrating personal accounts gathered through oral history interviews along with
primary documents and secondary historical analyses, this chapter addresses the
question of whether the “insurrections” of 1967 were in some sense predictable.
Topics discussed include: migration, de-industrialization and joblessness, the lack
of affordable housing and residential displacement/urban renewal, political disenfranchisement of racial minorities, and police –community relations. The chapter
concludes by further addressing the issue of predictability, focusing on oral testimonies to assess whether the events of 1967 were expected or came as a surprise to
people who lived and worked in these two cities.
Chapter Three-“Troublemakers”-examines how the rise of black militancy
and white radical liberalism, which characterized the political climate of the 1960s
in the U.S., was manifested locally in the cities of Newark and Detroit in the
period leading up to the riots/rebellions of 1967. It investigates the extent to which
these emerging ideologies played a role in fostering a climate of confrontation that
spawned urban unrest in the two cities. Drawing from firsthand observations of
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political activists, residents, and law enforcement officers, as well as archival materials, this chapter seeks to explain how the fiery rhetoric and ideological fervor of
black nationalists and white leftists inspired blacks and whites alike to challenge
the power of municipal authorities and thereby helped sow the seeds of rebellion in the two cities. It asks what the consequences were of seeking to empower
inner city residents to take action effecting social change. The chapter raises questions regarding the extent to which those who rioted or rebelled were inspired by
so-called “outside agitators” or by contrast, were acting in a largely spontaneous
manner to indigenous political and socio-economic circumstances. Given the presence of militant black nationalism and radical leftist politics in the two cities, this
chapter revisits and expands on the topic of chapter one—whether the events of
July 1967 were predictable.
Chapter Four-“Restoring Order”-explores the role that military and police
forces played in attempting to “restore order” during the events of July 1967 in
Newark and Detroit. Drawing on oral history interviews with police officers and
National Guardsmen, as well as internal police and National Guard documents,
this chapter looks at the training/preparedness and the tactics that police and military personnel employed to fulfill their mission of quelling the “civil disturbance”.
This chapter also details how such mission went astray, with young, mostly white
Guardsmen from suburban and rural areas getting lost in the urban wilderness and
firing on buildings where suspected “snipers” were housed. The chapter deals with
the frustration of police officers at their inability to stop the looting and how such
frustration gave rise to lapses in protocol and in some cases overt violence against
unarmed civilians. In addition to interviews with police officers and military personnel this chapter examines interactions among military troops and neighborhood residents. Utilizing oral history interviews with residents and merchants in
the two cities, it presents civilian perspectives on what it was like to live in a city
under siege.
Chapter Five-“Community Torn Apart”-addresses the traumatic effects of
the riot on specific communities in Newark and Detroit. This chapter examines
both the sense of loss expressed by some local residents and merchants, contrasting
those feelings with the sense of empowerment expressed by activists and youths in
the black community who saw the rebellion as an event which brought the community together. This chapter also addresses the effects of the riot/rebellion on
individuals who directly witnessed the events and felt their impact most strongly.
For some residents, the “riots” were akin to a natural disaster, but worse because
they were a product of human intention. For these residents, this human disaster
broke the social and economic bonds of an already fragile community, and led to
an absence of hope for the future where hope had been dwindling. For others the
“rebellion” constituted the turning of the political tides, a new era of opportunity
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marked by black political participation and cultural self-determination. This chapter presents stories about lost mothers, absent fathers, and missing siblings. It is
about the efforts of survivors to make sense of their losses and make peace with
the past. Those who lost family members during the riots continue to bear the
scars of wounds inflicted on their kin and struggle to move forward with their own
lives. Finally, this chapter also draws on the memories of eyewitnesses who were
children at the time of the riot. It details how the sounds, sights and smells of the
rioting are engrained in their psyche and chronicles their struggles growing up in
the post-riot city.
Chapter Six-“The Renaissance City” investigates the future of the post-riot
city. Combining materials from interviews with civic leaders, official planning
documents, and media reporting, this chapter looks at the post-riot recovery efforts
in Newark and Detroit focusing examining the various strategies that the two cities
have employed to overcome the stigma associated with the riots/rebellions of 1967.
It addresses how politicians and civic leaders in stigmatized cities like Newark and
Detroit attempt to re-image the city and asks how successful these efforts are at
restoring the tarnished image of these two cities. Returning to the main theme of
the book, this chapter inquires as to how the events of the summer of 1967 should
be remembered. The book concludes by making the case for public memorials and
official commemoration ceremonies which may help these cities and their citizens
face their own contentious past and thereby help them overcome the collective
trauma and stigmatization that has lingered since the summer of 1967.