The 1967 Detroit riot, also known as the 12th Street riot, began early in the morning on July 23, 1967.
The riot began after the police raided an illegal, unlicensed bar known as a blind pig in the United Community League for Civic Action office. The officers were surprised to find a party of 82 African Americans celebrating the return of two local GIs from the Vietnam War. While the police were arranging transportation for the arrested lawbreakers, a crowd of onlookers gathered. Walter Scott III, whose father was running the blind pig, threw a bottle at a police officer.
When the police left, the crowd began looting the neighborhood. Due to the large number of rioters, the police were unable to control the crowd. When the first fire broke out, the crowd prevented the firefighters from extinguishing the flames and the fire spread.
On July 24, Michigan State Police and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department were called to Detroit to assist the Detroit police force. Police made numerous arrests and eventually resorted to detaining people without any criminal charges just to get people off the streets. Throughout the day, 483 fires were lit and 1,800 arrests were made. 2,498 rifles and 28 handguns were stolen from local stores. Just before midnight, President Johnson authorized the use of federal troops in compliance with the Insurrection Act of 1807, which authorizes the President to call in armed forces to fight an insurrection in any state against the government.
On July 25, 8,000 Michigan Army National Guardsmen were deployed to quell the riot. Eventually, 4,700 paratroopers and 360 Michigan State Police officers would join to help end the riot.
It is estimated that 10,000 people participated in the riots and 100,000 gathered to watch. By the end of the riot, 2,509 stores were looted or burned, 388 families were rendered homeless or were displaced, and 412 buildings were burned to the point where they had to be demolished. The riot cost the city between $40-45 million. 7,200 people were arrested. 43 people were killed. Among the deaths were a Detroit police officer, two Detroit firefighters, and a Michigan Army National Guardsman.
A man involved in racial a disturbance in Detroit hurls a shoe at police who have sealed off the troubled area on Sunday, July 23, 1967. Later the rioting with resultant fires and looting spread to other surrounding areas. AP PhotoHundreds of black residents charge down 12th Street on Detroit’s Near West Side, about three miles from the downtown area, throwing stones and bottles at storefronts, and looting, July 23, 1967. Violence erupted early Sunday morning when police raided an unlicensed after-hours bar known as a “blind pig”. (AP Photo/Alvan Quinn)In this July 23, 1967, file photo, hundreds of people run down 12th Street on Detroit’s westside throwing stones and bottles at storefronts. The riot started after police raided an after-hours club in a predominantly African-American neighborhood. The raid, though, was just the spark. Many in the community blamed frustrations blacks felt toward the mostly white police, and city policies that pushed families into aging and over-crowded neighborhoods. AP Photo/FileSoldiers take cover behind both army vehicles and parked cars as they attempt to restore order to Detroit. Time & Life Pictures: Getty ImagesPolice blockade a street on Detroit’s Near West Side, about three miles from the downtown area, throwing stones and bottles at storefronts, and looting, July 23, 1967. AP PhotosA police car blocks off an area of 12th Street in Detroit where racial violence erupted, July 23, 1967. Police were met by a hail of bottles, bricks, and fruit when they tried to clear about 400 people from the streets and sidewalks Sunday afternoon. AP Photo/Alvan QuinnA loan office which had been looted in a Detroit Negro area, July 23, 1967, where the racial violence began on Sunday and is continuing with new fires looting and shooting reported. AP PhotoPolice face a crowd on Detroit’s Near West Side, about three miles from the downtown area. AP PhotoA man being stopped and frisked for weapons by police. AP PhotoNewsmen take to their heels fleeing down the middle of the street to escape rock and bottle-throwing on Detroit’s near West Side, July 23, 1967. Violence erupted after police raided a blind-pig and continued throughout the day. The newsman at right is Associated Press writer Justinas Bavarskis. AP Photo/Alvan QuinnDetermined to protect their own property at any cost, both African American and White store owners brought out weapons and stood ready to use them. Time & Life: Getty ImagesDetroit Police Officers preventing the crowd from getting too close. Time & Life: Getty ImagesDetroit, July 1967. FIremen work diligently to put out a fire that had been set during the rioting. Time & Life Pictures: Getty ImagesPart of the five-block Detroit area where racial violence continues with new fires and looting reported July 23, 1967. AP Photo: Alvan QuinnA man is taken into custody during a race riot in Detroit, July 23, 1967. AP Photo: Alvin QuinnMichigan National Guardsmen move into Detroit’s riot-torn area aboard carriers, July 23, 1967. Shown is a business district littered with debris. Smoke is from the numerous fires started by firebombs. AP Photo: Alvan QuinnMichigan National Guardsmen move into Detroit’s riot-torn area aboard carriers, July 23, 1967. Shown is a business district littered with debris. Smoke is from the numerous fires started by firebombs. AP Photo: Alvan QuinnUnit of the Michigan National Guard disperses to assigned positions in front of burning residences in Detroit’s riot-torn section, July 23, 1967. Numerous homes and businesses were firebombed during the racial violence which began following a raid on a blind pig (speakeasy). (AP Photo/Alvan Quinn)One of the worst racial disturbances in American history erupted in Detroit, Michigan, the nation’s sixth largest city, July 23, 1967. More than twenty people were killed in the rioting. AP PhotoIn this July 1967 file photo, a National Guardsman stands at a Detroit intersection during riots in the city. Detroit wasn’t the first of the riots in the summer of 1967, and it was far from the last. Buffalo, New York, and Newark, New Jersey, preceded it; in the course of the summer, more than 150 cases of civil unrest erupted across the United States. AP Photo/FileDetroit in flames. goldismoney2
