Riots of 1965-67

• • There were major riots across the US between 1964 and 1968, starting just two weeks after the Civil Rights Act was passed
  • They were a reaction to ghetto conditions, and police discrimination in the North
• The riots were also a protest against long term problems such as:

  • City officials ignoring complaints from black neighbourhoods
  • Unemployment and low wages
  • Poor housing and living conditions
  • Poor education
  • Violence in Mississippi and Selma
• • The riots drew attention to the problems in the ghettos
  • President Johnson started to put more money into imprving the ghettos and set up an enquiry into the riots which was known as the Kerner Report
• The Kerner Report said that:

  • The riots were caused by poor ghetto conditions and that white officials had failed to fix problems
  • White officials needed to involve black communities in decisions and listen to their problems
• The Kerner Report suggests that:

  • Policing should be changed to stop police violence and support the community
  • Federal money should be spent on improving ghettos, not on police which give them more weapons to deal with riots violently
  • The media had over-exaggerated the violence of the riots