The Detroit and Newark Race Riots of 1967

Objective:  To learn about how prolonged discrimination and inequality in northern cities resulted in riots in Detroit, MI and Newark, NJ. 

Backgroud:  Despite the gains made during the Civil Rights Movement, many blacks felt that change either wasn't coming fast enough or wasn't occuring at all.  While the efforts of groups (SCLC, SNCC, etc.), individuals (Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, etc.) and the governement (Civil Rights Acts of 1957/1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965) were noble and well intentioned, racial segregation still existed across the country.  In the North, de facto segregation was widely present in most northern cities.  As a result, blacks were being shut out of white neighborhoods and excluded from politics and school systems.  Years of built up tension and frustration with these conditions eventually exploded into violence in 1967 when riots erupted in Detroit and Newark.

Directions: Read the two articles on the Detroit and Newark Riots.  When you are done, answer the questions below.  Type your responses in Microsoft Word and print them for submission...DO NOT COPY AND PASTE!

1.  What specific event started each riot?

2.  How many people were injured or killed in each riot?

3.  How did issues relating to income inequality, housing, racism among the police, and urban renewal contribute to being the true causes of each riot?

4.  What effects did the riots have on their respective cities regarding population demographics in the years to follow?  Did white flight occur?

5.  Do you feel blacks were justified in rioting in either or both cities?  Why?