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The Consequences Of The Detroit Riot

Decent Essays

During the “Long, Hot Summer of 1967,” Detroit erupted in civil protest complete with looting, arson, and sniper-fire that signalled the inevitable downfall of the so-called “Model City.” The Detroit Riot was not the first of its kind, these riots had been happening around the country throughout the 1960’s and Detroit had become another city on the long list of urban rebellions. Detroit was in such chaos that Jerome Cavanagh, the mayor of Detroit, was forced to call in the National Guard. The riot had lasted only five days, from July 23rd to the 27th, yet by the end there were 43 reported deaths, 7,000 arrests, and $50 million of damage (“Detroit Riot of 1967”). Each riot had ties with the Civil Rights Movement and the strive for racial equality that was so prevalent in the 1960’s. The Detroit Riot was referred to by some as a rebellion, in which the participants seek reform through mass protest (Blumberg 139). These rebellions were oftentimes spontaneous yet there were undeniable patterns that appeared too often to be coincidental. The Detroit rebellion stemmed from racial inequality and discrimination of African Americans in the city. The most common factors of the rebellion were the issues of police bias and brutality against African Americans and housing and employment inequality. Consequences of the rebellion’s spontaneity, however, were disorder and lawlessness. Although it resulted in chaos, the 1967 Detroit Riot was a race rebellion in response to institutional

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