“A Period of Turmoil”

Abstract

Though riots themselves have often been studied, scholars know little about their short-term effects. This article considers the five-year period following Pittsburgh’s April 1968 riots, which allows scholars to see a moment of possibility not as evident in the long term. The riots ushered in opportunity for reform by making an abstract sense of crisis acute. They influenced change in local government, soured already strained police–community relations, hurt black business districts, and exacerbated racial tensions. Pittsburgh’s black community still made some incremental progress. But overall, local power structures persisted as budget concerns and an increasingly polarized community prevented sweeping changes to improve racial disparities. The Pittsburgh case bears similarity to national trends and reveals both the possibilities and limitations of this type of protest.