Ghetto Riots and Others: the Faces of Civil Disorder in 1967

Abstract

Civil disorders in American cities in 1967 popularly referred to as 'Negro riots' varied in many critical respects. Some can more appropriately be described as social upheavals characterized by a two-phase flow of lawless activities. Others had the character of political confrontations, disorder being used as a political tool by emerging Negro groups to encourage civil authorities to bargain and negotiate with them. Few disorders can be viewed simply as expressive rampages : riots by the anarchic and criminal elements in the community whose binge of anti-social desctruction can only be stopped by 'get tough' police practices. 'Get Tough' police policies were also the cause of some notable disturbances where the fulfillment of anticipations of Negro initiated disorder rather than its reality. Across the nation, ghetto upheavals would trigger 'satellite' disorders in which authority over-reaction occurred. The spread of news about disorders was an important factor in the propagation of violence, considerably more so than actions of Negro radical leaders to foment such events.

The initial conditions out of which a disorder emerged affected its course. Pre- existing grievances have a role, but the kind of grievance rather than the number of grievances seems more important. Negro youths have grievances against the police, and a ghetto uprising may take on the character of a competitive game in which youth attempt to humiliate the police.

The contradictions between American liberalism and American racism make the future seem troublesome. Short-run strategies of conflict amelioration might profitably be concerned not with eliminating violence but with limiting it such that it promotes rather than hinders the movement toward racial democracy.