The 1967 Detroit riot, also called the 12th Street Riot and the Detroit Uprising, was the most violent of the urban riots in the United States during the "long, hot summer of 1967." It mainly involved conflicts between African American residents and the Detroit Police Department. The riot began in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 23, 1967, in Detroit, Michigan.

The starting event was a police raid on an unlicensed, after-hours bar, known as a blind pig, located on the city's Near West Side. This event led to one of the deadliest and most destructive uprisings in American history. The riot lasted five days and was larger in scale than Detroit's 1943 race riot, which occurred 24 years earlier.

Governor George W. Romney ordered the Michigan Army National Guard to enter Detroit to help stop the violence. President Lyndon B. Johnson sent the United States Army's 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions to assist. The riot caused 43 deaths, 1,189 injuries, over 7,200 arrests, and more than 400 buildings destroyed.

The size of the riot was the worst in the United States since the 1863 New York City draft riots during the American Civil War. It was not matched until the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which happened 25 years later.

The riot received widespread media coverage, including live television broadcasts, detailed newspaper reports, and stories in Time and Life magazines. The Detroit Free Press staff won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for general local reporting for its coverage of the event.

Background

In the early 1900s, many African Americans moved to Detroit during the Great Migration. This caused the city’s population to grow quickly, but there were not enough homes for everyone. African Americans faced discrimination in housing. Rules called racial covenants and unspoken agreements among white people kept Black people from living in certain areas or buying homes. The Ku Klux Klan, which had members in Michigan, increased racial tensions and violence. Malcolm X’s father, Earl Little, was killed in a streetcar accident in 1931. Malcolm later believed a group called the Black Legion, which was part of the Klan, might have been involved. A system called redlining made it very hard for Black Detroiters to buy homes in most parts of the city, forcing them to live in lower-quality neighborhoods. These unfair practices and the segregation they caused led to racial tensions before the riot. Segregation also led to harsher policing in Black neighborhoods, which made Black residents more frustrated before the riot.

Racial and ethnic segregation continued into the mid-1900s. In 1956, Orville Hubbard, the mayor of Dearborn, told a newspaper that "Negroes can't get in here…These people are so anti-colored, much more than you in Alabama."

In 1961, Mayor Jerome Cavanagh was elected, and he brought some changes to the police department, led by George Edwards. Detroit received millions of dollars from federal programs started by President Johnson, and most of this money was used in the inner city, where poverty and social problems were common. By the 1960s, many Black people had better jobs in unions and professions. Detroit had a growing Black middle class, with higher wages for unskilled Black workers because of the auto industry’s success. There were two Black Congressmen, three Black judges, two Black members on the Detroit Board of Education, a housing commission that was 40% Black, and twelve Black representatives in the Michigan legislature. Neighborhoods like Conant Gardens were well-established. In 1967, a federal report ranked Detroit’s housing for Black residents as better than that of Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, and Cleveland. Nicholas Hood, the only Black member of the Detroit Common Council, praised the Cavanagh administration for listening to inner-city concerns. Before the riot, Mayor Cavanagh said residents did not "need to throw a brick to communicate with City Hall."

Despite these changes, some problems remained. In 1964, Rosa Parks, who had moved to Detroit in the 1950s, told an interviewer that housing segregation in Detroit was just as bad as in Alabama. Most of the improvements helped wealthier Black residents, while poor Black residents still faced difficult social conditions. Even with some progress, segregation, police brutality, and racial tensions were common in 1960s Detroit and played a major role in causing the riot.

The Detroit Police Department was directly controlled by the mayor. Before the riot, Mayor Cavanagh’s appointees, George Edwards and Ray Girardin, worked to improve the department. Edwards tried to recruit and promote Black officers but refused to create a civilian review board, which African Americans had requested. During trials to discipline officers accused of brutality, Edwards faced opposition from other officers. Many white people believed his policies were "too soft on crime." In 1968, a study by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission said the police system was responsible for racism. The department was accused of hiring people who were biased and of reinforcing bias through its values. A survey by President Johnson’s Kerner Commission found that 45% of officers in Black neighborhoods were "extremely anti-Negro" and 34% were "prejudiced."

In 1967, 93% of the police force was white, even though 30% of Detroit’s residents were Black. Police brutality made Black residents feel unsafe. Many officers used disrespectful language, such as calling Black men "boys" and women "honey" or "baby." Police often searched groups of young men and arrested people without proper identification. The press reported many questionable cases of officers shooting or beating Black citizens before 1967. After the riot, a survey by the Detroit Free Press showed that residents considered police brutality the biggest problem before the riot.

Black residents complained that police responded more slowly to their calls than to those from white residents. They believed the police benefited from crimes like vice in Black neighborhoods and lost trust in the force after reports linked it to organized crime. Sidney Fine noted that the biggest complaint about vice in poor neighborhoods was prostitution. Leaders in the Black community said the police did not do enough to stop white men from exploiting Black women. Before the riot, police began cracking down on prostitution along Twelfth Street. On July 1, a prostitute was killed, and rumors spread that police had shot her. Police claimed she was murdered by local pimps. Detroit police used "Big 4" or "Tac" squads, made up of four officers, to patrol neighborhoods and stop soliciting.

Black residents believed police raids on after-hours drinking clubs were unfair. These clubs had been important social spaces for Black people since the 1920s, even though they started during Prohibition because Black people were often excluded from other venues.

After World War II, Detroit lost nearly 150,000 jobs to the suburbs. This happened because of changes in technology, automation, the auto industry’s growth, tax policies, the need for different types of manufacturing space, and the construction of highways. Companies like Packard, Hudson, and Studebaker, along with many smaller businesses, closed. In the 1950s, unemployment in Detroit was close to 10%. Between 1946 and 1956, General Motors spent $3.4 billion, Ford $2.5 billion, and Chrysler $700 million on new plants in the suburbs. This caused many workers to move to the suburbs for jobs. Other middle-class residents left the city for better housing, a trend seen nationwide. In the 1960s, Detroit lost about 10,000 residents each year to the suburbs. Between 1950 and 1960, the city’s population dropped by 179,000, and by another 156,000 by 1970.

Events

The crimes reported to police included looting, arson, and sniping. These crimes happened in many areas of Detroit after a police raid on an unlicensed drinking club. The Detroit Police Department, Michigan State Police, National Guard, and federal troops were sent to areas where riots occurred. The riots lasted for 6 days, from July 23 to July 28.

At 3:45 a.m. on Sunday, July 23, 1967, Detroit Police Department officers raided an unlicensed drinking club (called a "blind pig") located in the office of the United Community League for Civic Action above the Economy Printing Company at 9125 12th Street. The officers expected to find a few people inside but instead found 85 people celebrating the return of two local soldiers from the Vietnam War. The police decided to arrest everyone present. While arranging transportation, a crowd gathered outside the building. Later, William Walter Scott III, a doorman whose father ran the club, said in a memoir that he started the riot by encouraging the crowd and throwing a bottle at a police officer.

After the police left, the crowd began looting a nearby shoe and clothing store, Parker Brothers Shoes and Menswear. Soon after, looting spread throughout the neighborhood. The Michigan State Police, Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, and Michigan Army National Guard were alerted, but it took hours for Police Commissioner Ray Girardin to gather enough officers because it was Sunday. Witnesses described a "carnival atmosphere" on 12th Street. On Chene Street, reports said the crowd included people of different backgrounds. A pastor from Grace Episcopal Church reported seeing people happily throwing items out of buildings. Police tried to control the crowd on 12th Street but were unable to because of the large number of people outside. The first major fire started in the afternoon at a grocery store on the corner of 12th Street and Atkinson.

Local news media avoided reporting on the disturbance at first to prevent copycat violence. By Sunday afternoon, news spread, and people at events like a Motown concert and a Detroit Tigers baseball game were warned to avoid certain areas. Motown singer Martha Reeves asked people to leave the Fox Theater quietly because of the trouble outside. Detroit Tigers general manager Jim Campbell told a sportscaster not to mention smoke seen over the left-field fence at the stadium. Later, fans were told to avoid certain streets but were not given full details. After the game, Tigers player Willie Horton, who grew up near 12th Street, drove to the riot area in his baseball uniform and stood on a car in the middle of the crowd. He tried to calm the people but was unable to.

Mayor Jerome Cavanagh said the situation was "critical" but not yet "out of control." At 7:45 p.m. on Sunday, Cavanagh ordered a citywide curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., banned alcohol and firearms sales, and limited business activity due to the unrest. Nearby communities also imposed curfews. White people participated in the looting and violence, which raised questions about whether the event was a race riot.

The Detroit police force was overwhelmed, so the Michigan State Police and Wayne County Sheriff’s Department were called in to help. As violence spread, police made many arrests and housed detainees in temporary jails. Starting Monday, some people were arrested without being taken to court. Many gave false names, making identification difficult. Windsor Police helped check fingerprints.

Police began taking photos of arrested looters, officers, and stolen goods to speed up the process. More than 80% of those arrested were Black. About 12% were women. Michigan National Guardsmen could not arrest people, so state troopers and police officers made all arrests without distinguishing between civilians and criminals.

Michigan Governor George Romney and President Lyndon B. Johnson disagreed about sending federal troops. Johnson said he could not send troops without Romney declaring a "state of insurrection" under the Insurrection Act. As historian Sidney Fine wrote, political disagreements made decisions harder during the crisis. Romney, who planned to run for president in 1968, and President Johnson, a Democrat, did not want to send troops based only on Romney’s request. Mayor Cavanagh, a Democrat, had a personal and political conflict with Romney and was reluctant to ask for help.

Violence worsened on Monday, with 483 fires, 231 incidents reported each hour, and 1,800 arrests. Looting and arson were widespread, and Black-owned businesses were also targeted. A Black merchant said, "you were going to get looted no matter what color you were." Firefighters were shot at while fighting fires. Over 2,498 rifles and 38 handguns were stolen from stores. Local forces could not restore order.

On Monday, U.S. Representative John Conyers, who opposed federal troops, tried to calm the crowd by driving along 12th Street and asking people to return home. He shouted through a bullhorn, "We’re with you! But, please! This is not the way to do things! Please go back to your homes!" The crowd refused to listen, and his car was attacked with rocks and bottles.

On July 25, Detroit police, Michigan State Police, National Guardsmen, and a security guard named Melvin Dismukes raided the Algiers Motel to find an alleged sniper. Several Black men and two white women, Juli Hysell and Karen Molloy, were inside. Law enforcement forced people against the wall. Three Black men—Carl Cooper, Aubrey Pollard, and Fred Temple—were shot and killed by police officers Ronald August, Robert Paille, and David Senak. Cooper, 17, was found dead in room A-2. Pollard, 18, and Temple, 19, were found dead in room A-3. Officer Paille was suspected of killing Temple, and officer August was suspected of killing Pollard.

Reactions

The Detroit riot caused more unrest in other places as it spread from the city to nearby suburbs and other parts of Michigan. Little trouble was reported in Highland Park and River Rouge, but more police were needed after a bomb threat was called into an E.J. Korvette store in Southgate. The state sent National Guardsmen or state police to other cities in Michigan because riots also happened at the same time in Pontiac, Flint, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, Toledo, and New York City. Problems were reported in over 150 cities, including Newark, New Jersey.

Blacks and whites in Detroit had very different views about the events in July 1967. To understand the damage, it was important to study the attitudes and beliefs of people in Detroit. Sidney Fine's chapter, "The Polarized Community," mentions many surveys about public opinion that were done after the riot. Although Black Nationalism seemed to grow stronger because of the conflict, with more people joining Albert Cleage's church and the New Detroit committee trying to include black leaders like Norvell Harrington and Frank Ditto, whites were more likely to support separation between the races.

In 1968, 1% of Detroit blacks supported complete separation between the races, while 17% of Detroit whites did. African-Americans supported "integration" by 88%, but only 24% of whites supported integration. People living in the 12th Street area had different views from other blacks in the city. For example, 22% of 12th Street blacks believed they should "get along without whites entirely." However, a survey by the Detroit Free Press in 1968 showed that the most approval among black Detroiters went to traditional politicians like Charles Diggs (27%) and John Conyers (22%), compared to Albert Cleage (4%).

Damages

During the 1967 Detroit Riot, 43 people died, including 33 Black individuals and 10 white individuals. A total of 1,189 people were injured, and 7,231 people were arrested. More than 2,500 businesses reported looting or damage, and 388 families became homeless or displaced. Property damage costs ranged from $40 million to $45 million. Mayor Jerome Cavanagh said, "Today we stand amidst the ashes of our hopes. We hoped against hope that what we had been doing was enough to prevent a riot. It was not enough." The scale of the riot was the worst in the United States since the 1863 New York City draft riots during the American Civil War and was not surpassed until the 1992 Los Angeles riots 25 years later.

Joe's Record Shop, located at 8434 12th Street and owned by Joe Von Battle, was destroyed during the 1967 Detroit Riot. The shop was founded in 1945 at 3530 Hastings Street, where Battle sold records and recorded music with artists like John Lee Hooker, The Reverend C.L. Franklin, and Aretha Franklin. He moved to 12th Street in 1960 after Hastings Street was demolished to build the Chrysler Freeway. Battle operated his shop on 12th Street until July 23, 1967, when it was destroyed during the riot. During the riot, Battle stood guard in front of his shop with a gun and a "Soul Brother" sign. After the first day of rioting, police stopped business owners from guarding their shops. Days later, Battle returned with his daughter, Marsha Battle Philpot, and found the shop destroyed, with debris covering what had once been a significant record store. The shop and its collection of tapes and recordings were ruined, and it could not reopen after the riot.

A total of 43 people died: 33 were Black and 10 were white. Among the Black deaths, 14 were shot by police officers; 9 were shot by National Guardsmen; 6 were shot by store owners or security guards; 2 died from breathing smoke in a building fire; 1 was killed after stepping on a downed power line; and 1 was shot by a federal soldier. Some reports suggest that the presence of snipers during the riot may have been exaggerated, and some military and law enforcement deaths may have been caused by friendly fire (mistakenly shot by their own side).

One Black civilian, Albert Robinson, was killed by a National Guardsman responding to an apartment building on the city's west side. Ernest Roquemore, a Black teenager who was the last to die during the unrest, was killed by Army paratroopers on July 29 when caught in their crossfire aimed at someone else. Police also shot three other individuals during that same firefight, with one person requiring a leg amputation. Jack Sydnor, a Black sniper, shot a police officer in the street. Sydnor was later shot by police in his third-floor apartment on Hazelwood Street. Sydnor was the only sniper killed during the riot.

Among the white deaths, 6 were civilians, 2 were firefighters, 1 was a police officer, and 1 was a Guardsman. Of the white sworn personnel killed, 2 firefighters died: one stepped on a downed power line while fighting a fire started by looters, and the other was shot while organizing fire units. One police officer was shot by another officer while struggling with looters, and one Guardsman was shot by fellow Guardsmen while caught in crossfire. Of the white civilians killed, 2 were shot by National Guardsmen—one was in a hotel room and mistaken for a sniper, and another was shot while trying to drive away from rioters. One was shot by police while working as a security guard, one was beaten to death by a rioter after confronting looters in his store, and one white looter was killed by police while trying to steal a car part at a junkyard.

Effects

The New Detroit committee, formed by Henry Ford II, J.L. Hudson, and Max Fisher after the 1967 riots, faced criticism for supporting radical black groups. This was seen as an attempt to address concerns of "inner-city Negro" residents and "rioters." Moderate black leaders, like Arthur L. Johnson, felt weakened because the riot gave more power to black radicals who supported extreme ideas, such as creating a black republic in parts of the South and taking weapons from gun shops.

A top official from the Kerner Commission reported that some of the most active organizers in the 12th Street area did not believe killing whites was wrong.

Both moderate black and white communities criticized the New Detroit committee for giving money and support to radical black groups, which some saw as a way to prepare for future riots. Many feared that the next riot would not only affect inner-city black neighborhoods but also white suburbs. White groups, like "Breakthrough," wanted to arm white residents and keep them in the city to prevent "guerrilla warfare" in suburbs if Detroit became more black.

Detroit Councilman Mel Ravitz said the riot deepened racial divides and caused conflicts within both black and white communities. Moderate liberals faced new political groups that promoted extreme solutions and spread fear about future violence. In 1968, the London Free Press described Detroit as a "sick city" where fear, prejudice, and gun ownership had increased tensions. Sidney Fine noted that while the riot helped some black grievances be heard, it was only partly successful.

The riot caused many white residents to leave Detroit. Between 1967 and 1969, 173,000 white residents moved out, and by 1978, Detroit public schools lost 74% of their white students. After the riot, the federal and state governments gave more attention to the black community. Although the New Detroit committee later lost its black members and became the Detroit Renaissance group, more money flowed into black-owned businesses. Coleman Young, Detroit's first black mayor, later wrote about the impact of the riot.

In 2010, Thomas Sowell, a conservative writer, discussed the riot’s effects in an article.

The riot led the military and Johnson administration to consider using the Army to control domestic unrest. It also showed the importance of the Army Operations Center in dealing with guerrilla tactics.

After the riot, governments increased hiring of minorities. In 1967, the first black State Police trooper was sworn in. By 1968, 35% of Detroit police hired were black, and by 1972, blacks made up 14% of the police force, double their numbers in 1967. The Michigan government also required companies to hire more nonwhite workers, increasing minority employment by 21.1%.

The Greater Detroit Board of Commerce started a job campaign to employ 10,000 people, mostly black. By October 1967, about 5,000 African-Americans had been hired. A 1968 survey found that 39% of residents in riot areas believed employers had become "more fair" since the riot.

After the riot, automakers and retailers lowered job requirements for entry-level positions. A Michigan Bell supervisor said businesses now focused on hiring people rather than excluding them.

Before the riot, Detroit had no laws to stop housing segregation, and few existed in Michigan. Some politicians supported fair housing, but white conservatives opposed it strongly. After the riot, Governor Romney pushed for fair housing laws, including tenant rights and code enforcement. Though the laws faced resistance, they passed in 1968.

Two years after the riot, Wayne County Sheriff Roman Gribbs created the STRESS unit, a secret police group that targeted black communities. STRESS used undercover tactics to trap criminals and ignored white suspects. It was accused of killing 20 people in 30 months and conducting raids without warrants. This worsened tensions between the black community and police.

In 1971, the State of Emergency Committee formed to protest STRESS’s actions, and thousands marched for its abolition.

Senator Richard Austin, the first black person in many political roles, was followed by Senator Coleman Young, who took a more active and liberal approach to politics.

Legacy

A survey conducted by EPIC-MRA, a research company, in July 2016 studied how black and white residents in Detroit and surrounding areas viewed race relations since the 1967 riots. The survey included 600 people from Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties. It took place from July 14 to July 19, a time when the Detroit Free Press noted that the nation was discussing issues related to police shootings of African-American citizens and attacks on officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge.

People in Detroit were more hopeful about race relations than the national average. A separate national survey by the Washington Post and ABC News found that only 32% of those surveyed believed race relations were good. In contrast, 56% of white Detroiters and 47% of black Detroiters in the EPIC-MRA survey said race relations were good. Reynold Farley, a retired sociology professor from the University of Michigan, explained that people in Detroit may be more familiar with race relations because they live in a city with a large African-American population. He said this is different from places like Maine, where there are very few African-Americans, and people learn about race issues mainly from news reports.

The survey also showed differences in how people from Detroit and the rest of the country viewed the future. Only 10% of those in the Washington Post/ABC News survey believed race relations were improving, while 33% of white Detroiters and 22% of black Detroiters said they had improved over the past 10 years. Additionally, 50% of white Detroiters and 41% of black Detroiters thought race relations would improve in the next five years.

Although these results suggest some progress in Detroit, other survey questions showed that challenges remain. When asked to describe the 1967 riots using the words "riot," "rebellion," or "uprising," 61% of white respondents chose "riot," while 12% chose "rebellion" and 12% chose "uprising." Among black respondents, 34% chose "riot," 27% chose "rebellion," and 24% chose "uprising." Most people agreed that significant progress had been made since the riots, but many black Detroiters still feel discrimination is a problem. For example, 28% of black respondents said they felt unfairly treated in hiring, pay, or promotion in the past year, compared to 14% of white respondents. Also, 73% of black Detroiters believed they were treated less fairly than white people when trying to find a good job.

In popular culture

Several songs talk about the riot, including "Black Day in July" by Gordon Lightfoot and "The Motor City Is Burning" by John Lee Hooker.

The 2017 film Detroit, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, was a movie that tells a story based on the Algiers Motel killings. Survivors of the event helped make the movie.

Art influenced by the riots

In 2017, an exhibition called "Art of Rebellion: Black Art of the Civil Rights Movement" was held at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The exhibition was organized by Valerie J. Mercer and included many artworks made in response to events from 1967. One of these artworks, Black Attack (1967), was painted by Detroit artist Allie McGhee right after the 1967 events. The painting uses "broad strokes of color that appear spontaneous, giving form to the artist's memories of the strength and resolve of Black people facing intense opposition to change."

In 2017, Detroit artist Rita Dickerson created a piece titled 1967: Death in the Algiers Motel and Beyond. The artwork shows the Algiers Motel and portraits of three young Black men killed there by police. Below the portraits are the names of men and women who have died in recent years during encounters with police, showing that police violence still takes lives of Black people.

Bill Harris, a Detroit-based poet, playwright, and educator, wrote a book about the condition of the Detroit Black community after July 1967. The book, titled Detroit: A Young Guide to the City, was edited by Sheldon Annis and published by Speedball Publications in 1970.

In 2017, two plays based on firsthand accounts were performed. Detroit '67, created by the Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers, shared recollections from five people in the Detroit area at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. AFTER/LIFE, performed at the Joseph Walker Williams Recreation Center, presented the events from the perspectives of women and girls.