19.1.14

The Riots of 1965–67

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The Riots of 1965–67

There were major and widespread riots across the US between 1964 and 1968, starting just two weeks after the Civil Rights Act was passed.

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The riots

  • There were 329 major riots in 257 cities between 1964 and 1968, starting just two weeks after the Civil Rights Act was passed.
  • They resulted in 220 deaths and 52,629 arrests.
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Causes of the 65-67 riots

  • They were partially a reaction to ghetto conditions, and police discrimination against black people in the North.
  • The first was triggered when a policeman shot a young black man, and led to other cities in the North.
  • The Watts riots in LA occurred after a black man was wrongfully arrested.
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Long term problems

  • The riots were also a protest against long term problems such as:
    • City officials ignoring complaints from black neighbourhoods.
    • Unemployment and low wages.
    • Poor housing and living conditions.
    • Poor education.
    • Violence in Mississippi and Selma.
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Participants and victims

  • 80% of rioters were young black men, who attacked discriminating white businesses but not white people.
  • In fact, more black people died during the riots than whites.

The Kerner Report

President Johnson started to put more money into improving the ghettos and set up an enquiry into the riots of 1965–67.

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The ghettos

  • The riots drew attention to the problems in the ghettos.
  • Martin Luther King visited Watts and started an SCLC campaign in the North.
  • President Johnson started to put more money into improving the ghettos and set up an enquiry into the riots.
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The Kerner Report

  • The Kerner Report said that:
    • The riots were caused by poor ghetto conditions, and that white officials had failed to fix the problems there.
    • White officials needed to involve black communities in decisions and listen to their issues.
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The Kerner Report contents

  • Policing should be changed to stop police violence and support the community.
  • Federal money should be spent on improving conditions not on police training which just gave them more weapons to deal with riots in a violent manner.
  • The media had over-exaggerated the extent and the violence of the riots, which hadn’t helped.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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