Detroit Riot 1967

Economic Damages

2,509 stores looted or burned, 388 families rendered homeless or displaced and 412 buildings burned or damaged enough to be demolished. Dollar losses from arson and looting ranged from $40 million to $80 million

Injuries

467 injured: 182 civilians, 167 Detroit police officers, 83 Detroit firefighters, 17 National Guard troops, 16 State Police officers, 3 U.S. Army soldiers.

Arrest

7,231 arrested: 6,528 adults, 703 juveniles; the youngest, 4, the oldest, 82. Half of those arrested had no criminal record. Of those arrested, 64% were accused of looting and 14% were charged with curfew violations.

What is "Black Bottom"?

As the oldest established black enclave in Detroit, "Black Bottom" was not merely a point on the map, but the heart of Detroit's black community, commercially and culturally. The loss for many black residents of Detroit was devastating, and the anger burned for years thereafter.

Police Brutality

Black residents were asked to produce identification, and having suffered their necessary share of humiliation, were allowed to proceed on their way. But if one could not produce "proper" identification, this could lead to arrest or worse. In a few notable cases, police stops led to the injury or death of those who were detained.

What was the flame that ignited the 1967 riots?

Detroit police officers raided the unlicensed after-hours drinking club, expecting to find only a few people inside, but instead there were 82 people celebrating the return of two local veterans from the Vietnam War. The police attempted to arrest everyone present. While they were arranging to transport the arrestees, a crowd gathered around the establishment in protest. Shortly after the looting and protest began and did not stop for several days.

Why was their urban renewal?

In Detroit, entire neighborhoods were bulldozed to make way for freeways that linked city and suburbs. To build Interstate 75, Paradise Valley or "Black Bottom", the neighborhood that black migrants and white ethnics had struggled over during the 1940s, was buried beneath several layers of concrete.

Causes of the Detroit Riot

It was rooted in a multitude of political, economic, and social factors including police abuse, lack of affordable housing, urban renewal projects, economic inequality, black militancy, and rapid demographic change.

Deaths

Over the period of five days, forty-three people died, of whom 33 were black and ten white

How long did the riots last?

The conflagration lasted four terrifying days and nights

When did the riots take place?

The riots began in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 23, 1967.

Where did the riots take place?

The riots took place on the corner of 12th (today Rosa Parks Boulevard) and Clairmount streets on the city's Near West Side.

Big Four" or "Tac Squad

These elite 4 man units frequently stopped youths who were driving or walking through the 12th street neighborhood. They roamed the streets, searching for bars to raid and prostitutes to arrest. They verbally degraded these youths, calling them "boy" and "n*gger", asking them who they were and where they were going.

What is Urban Renewal?

the shortage of housing available to black residents