The Detroit\’s 1967 Riot

Its storied past and rich cultural heritage makes Detroit a fascinating city. A place filled with memories,  people, fashions and events, innovations that change the globe, and music that redefines the genre. A distinct Motown sound from the 1960s is also associated with Detroit.

Detroit, which is home to a diverse population of people from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds, is home to a population of Italian, English, German, Polish, Irish, Mexican, Middle Eastern, African, and Greek origins. The majority of Detroit\’s population is made up of African Americans, Hispanics, and Arab Americans. Among the city\’s ethnically diverse neighborhoods are Greektown, Mexican town, and Asian Village.

Understanding Detroit Riot 1967 Uprising

At the end of July 1967, Detroit experienced one of the worst civil disturbances of the 20th century. Fear and uncertainty engulfed the city, leaving scars that can still be seen today. The death toll topped 43, and the property damage topped fifty million dollars.

Hubert G. Locke, who was the administrative assistant to Detroit\’s police commissioner at the time of the Detroit Riot of 1967, tells the story of that horrible event from his perspective. 

There has never been a more bloody urban disorder and a more costly destruction of property in United States history than that which took place in Detroit in July of 1967. It resulted in the deaths of forty-three people, thirty-three of which were black and ten of which were white, over a year. There were thousands of injuries and 3,800 arrests and a total of 5,000 people were forced into homelessness, the majority of them being people of color.

As a result of the fire, more than one thousand structures had been reduced to ashes. A shocking $50 million was incurred in damage when all was added up. As part of the uprising, which most black radicals called a \”rebellion,\”

At the Algiers Motel, several white police officers intentionally shot three black guys who were not armed with death. Widick, 1972; Hersey, 1968) were both shot lying down or hiding when they were shot kneeling.  As part of this series, we will explore the historical factors that led up to, and how different parts of the black and white communities reacted to, this terrible incident.

The events of the week leading up to the riot and the days immediately following are discussed in this article. An account is provided of the looting, burning, and sniping that occurred during the event, as well as the challenges that were faced by the police, the National Guard, and the federal forces as they worked to restore order.

What Happened In The Detroit Riot 1967

In Detroit, perhaps, this is the one clear observation that can be made about the city as it emerged from its week of terror and destruction. Those who were involved in pre-riot Detroit and participated in the dynamics of its growth during the preceding five years saw the city in all of its creative potential—a city well along the road to economic recovery, with the tremendous educational, cultural, and spiritual resources that were to be found in its colleges and universities, its public schools, art and historical museums, churches and synagogues. It was a city that cared about its inhabitants—“a city with a heart,” as the legend went—that had gained a national reputation for its pioneering efforts in the war against poverty, in fair and equitable law enforcement, in urban renewal, and in countless other critical areas of urban life. It was a city whose compassion was symbolized by the Torch Drive campaign, another pioneering Detroit effort, in which the city and its suburbs annually contributed over $25,000,000 to the financing of a vast network of private social service programs.

The Detroit Riot of 1967 examines a large number of the important questions that are currently being faced by contemporary urban America. It also provides observations on the issues that are plaguing the policing system and substantive suggestions for redefining the role of urban law enforcement in American society. The behavior of Detroit\’s largely white police force toward members of the city\’s black community served as the spark that led off the rioting in that city. 

The final series presents several different potential outcomes for people now living in Detroit.  One of the potential options is to implement a strategy of spatial mobility within the framework of a  landscape of opportunity for locals who wish to advance their careers and move to larger  opportunities on both the commercial and social fronts that can be found outside the city limits.

People are still talking about the civil unrest that occurred in Detroit in 1967, even though it\’s been more than fifty years. Still being discussed in conversation and written about. It continues to be a significant historical and racial  occurrence that is ingrained in the collective memories of a whole generation of black and white metropolitan residents.

Residents of Detroit who either witnessed the incident themselves or learned about it from most senior citizens,  family members and friends who were locals of either the city of Detroit or its environs during the time. This  incident, more than any other that occurred in the time period following World War II, left a lasting mark on the country. It influenced not only on that generation, but also for the generations who came after it. 

Many both black and white residents of the metropolitan area of Detroit, and in especially those white residents who fled the area as a direct result of the riot, continue to define the stages of their lives in relation to the event. The \”riot\” forced their family to become refugees, upending their luxurious lifestyle and forcing them to leave their \”beautiful\” home.

One of the after effects of a riot is that it compels individuals who live there to take precautions by going through it, you\’ll be able to view the city from an altogether new vantage point.

The decline and collapse of Motown as the industrial capital of the nation is the event that has left the city with its most apparent and vast wounds; five decades after the riot, it is the incident that has left Detroit with its most obvious and massive scars.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Detroit was being ravaged by forces that were beyond the city\’s ability to control. In hindsight, the riot might be understood as a nightmare event in a dreadful dream of industrial despair from which the city is just beginning to awaken.  The city of Detroit is in the process of reviving its economic life by gradually adopting new types of activity.

The revival of this magnificent and venerable old city is not only a tribute to the tenacity of its citizens, who have steadfastly refused to give up on their hometown, but also to a culture that has, for at least three centuries, maintained a history of triumphing over hardship.