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1967 was a year that remained in the
Detroit history as the year of the bloody riots.
More than 49 people were slain or died in fires or
accidents during several chaotic days in July
1967. The riots started when the police raided an
after hours bar on the today’s Rose Parks Boulevard
and lasted for about 5 days. The results clearly
indicate the violence of the incidents: 43 dead,
more than 1,000 people badly injured and many
destroyed properties. The raise of the black
population of Detroit relative to whites was one of
the reason that increased tensions both in the city
and the suburbs. Other reasons were:
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the deconstruction of several
neighborhoods to make place for highways;
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the frustration of blacks over the
house availability;
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the powerful white police force which
was famous for its brutality;
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the declining property values in
Detroit;
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The movement of jobs away from the
city center.
Flint felt the intensity of the Detroit riots as
well, but with less violence and victims; few stores
and houses were firebombed and the police forces
were in permanent alert. In Flint, the riots begun
to burst in the middle of the night, when a group of
instigators started throwing bottles and rocks at
passing cars.
The police tried to break up
the groups of instigators, but with no results.
Furious crowds gathered downtown near Saginaw and
Leith streets, and many windows were smashed at the
stores in the area. As a caution measure, Governor
George Romney signed an order that declared an
emergency state in the entire Genesee County.
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The gasoline sale was restricted;
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Alcohol sales were prohibited as well;
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Citizens were not allowed to wear
guns, just the law enforcement personnel did.
There was one department in
Flint that had a record number of alerts, and this
was the Flint Fire Department. Up to 40 fire alarms
required their assistance during the night of 24-25th
of July. The current mayor at the time, Floyd Mc
Cree, tried to convince the crowds to disperse,
accompanied by police forces.
He was one of the first
African American mayors of an US large city, in
spite of the Flint’s legacy of racial discrimination
and tension. When GM opened more factories in
Flint, African Americans were drawn here, allured by
the high wages and work opportunities. However, for
a long time, they were not hired to assembly
positions, and never had access to affluent
neighborhoods like the East Village. The Flint riots
were caused by the 1967 efforts made in order to
open the Flint’s housing market to black people.
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Michelle