,
10 tweets,
5 min read
Read on Twitter
In the early morning of July 23rd, police raided an unlicensed bar known as The Blind Pig. This raid would be the spark that caused one of the bloodiest riots in American history, the #Detroit Race Riot of 1967. #OnThisDay 
Detroit experienced over three days of unrest that resulted in 43 deaths, 1000 people injured, 7200 people arrested, and hundreds of families displaced from their homes. While the raid ignited the riot, the underlying causes went much deeper.
The summer of 1967 was known as the “Long Hot Summer.” All across America, race riots were erupting in urban cities. In Detroit, the riot was the culmination of Black residents anger over police brutality, disenfranchisement and lack of housing and economic opportunities.
As part of integration efforts and better access to resources, Black Detroiters started to move into predominantly White neighborhoods. This led to “White flight” and White Detroiters fled to the suburbs.
With White residents moving to the suburbs, business owners and politicians neglected inner-city neighborhoods, leading to underdevelopment & overcrowding, ultimately deepening the roots of segregation.
Black residents in Detroit were struggling with housing and employment discrimination, underinvested public education, and poor medical care.
The riot finally ended on July 27th, 1967 with the governor sending in the National Guard and President Lyndon B. Johnson sending in the Army. The destruction of this riot was the worst the U.S. had ever seen, and was not surpassed until the LA riots of 1992.
In response to the riots during “The Long Hot Summer,” President Johnson established the Kerner Commission to investigate the causes of the 1967 riots and provide recommendations. The commission found that poverty, racism, and discrimination were the causes of the riots.
The commission stated that “Our nation is moving towards two societies, one black, one white - separate and unequal.”
In response, President Johnson ignored the recommendations of the Kerner Commission's report. While we have made strides, the same issues that caused the riot still persist today. Blacks are still fighting twice as high poverty rates & disenfranchisement. smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-in…
