The Martin Luther King Assassination Riots, April 1968
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was shot as he stood on a motel balcony in Memphis Tennessee. The riots which exploded in cities across the United States represented the largest incidence of civic violence to occur in the United States since the Civil War. Riots in cities large and small saw acts of vengeance, personal violence, looting, theft, and vandalism. White businesses were frequently targeted, but individual acts of black-on-white violence were less frequent than during the widespread urban violence of the preceding summer. Over 100 cities reported acts of urban unrest. New York and Boston were largely spared, due to the quick and decisive actions of civic leadership.
Washington DC was not spared. On the night of the King assassination protesters led by Stokely Carmichael were on the march demanding that businesses close in the 14th Street corridor out of respect for the slain leader. Some businesses complied, but in a short time, they were being broken into and looted, as were those which did not comply. By noon of the following day, confrontations between rioters and police were taking place in several locations throughout the city. More than 13,000 federal troops were deployed, setting up defensive perimeters on the steps of the US Capitol and the White House lawn. Before the Washington riots were brought under control more than 900 buildings had been burned, and the damages remained visible in the city for decades.
Nearby Baltimore didn’t feel the violence until April 6, when rioters and National Guard troops faced each other in several of the city’s neighborhoods. Martial law was declared in Baltimore and Maryland governor Spiro Agnew was pointedly critical of local black leaders for not doing enough to protect their city. Agnew’s comments drew a favorable response from Republican Presidential Candidate Richard Nixon. In Cincinnati, rioters took on a definite black-on-white character when they erupted on April 8. More than 1,500 National Guardsmen were required to placate the city, leading to hundreds of arrests and at least two deaths.
The riots which broke out nationwide were divisive politically. President Johnson urged local civic leaders to preemptively request the support of the National Guard or federal troops, rather than waiting for events to transpire before asking for aid. Johnson told Chicago Mayor Richard Daley that he would, “…rather move them and not need them than need them and not have them,” in reference to dispatching troops to support local law enforcement. Several cities found the response to the King’s assassination to be an excuse for the continuation of unrest triggered by other issues. Many conservatives condemned the riots as a repeat of the urban unrest of the preceding year, particularly in Detroit.
The Republican Party used the urban unrest to reinforce its position of supporting law and order, in opposition to the growing number of civil rights protests and anti-war demonstrations across the country. Republican candidates for national office, including in the Presidential election later in the year, positioned themselves as candidates who would ensure compliance with national policy and law, and respect for the institutions of government, including the military draft and civil rights laws as written.