1967 Atlanta riots
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| 1967 Atlanta riots | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Long, hot summer of 1967 | |||
| Date | June 17 – 20, 1967 | ||
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia | ||
| Caused by | A fight breaking out at a shopping center. | ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Casualties | |||
| Death(s) | 1 | ||
| Injuries | 22 | ||
| Arrested | 13 | ||
The 1967 Atlanta riots were one of many riots during the Long, hot summer of 1967 lasting from June 17, 1967, to June 20. The riots started after a black male who was holding a beer can was denied from entering the Flamingo Grill by a security guard there at the Dixie Hills Shopping Center and a fight started afterwards.[1]
Statistical background
Prior to the riots, the Kerner Report described the city as being racially progressive but tense. Despite the city being racially progressive, there were strong segregationist elements in the city as well. The city had experienced significant growth after World War II through industrialization and annexations along with the city's non white population growing. By the time of the riots, 44% of the city was non-white.^ [1]
Disparities were seen between non-white residents in the city through housing, income and education. The median income for non-white families in the city was less than half that of white families. In Atlanta, there were about 25,000 unfilled job positions because of a lack of education and skills to get potential applicants. Non whites in Atlanta had less education on average than whites did in the city. Many homes in the city where non-white residents lived at were in bad condition.[1]
Summerhill Riot
On September 6, 1966, a black man who was arrested in connection to stealing a car was shot and wounded by a detective. Afterwards, a riot known as the Summerhill Riot or the Atlanta Rebellion broke out and lasted until September 12.[2][3]
Civil Rights Movement actions
Atlanta pursued a strategy that was considered moderate when it came to desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement. It considered keeping the peace and moderation as the highest priorities while considering actual integration secondarily. Martin Luther King collaborated with Atlanta mayors William Hartsfield and Ivan Allen Jr. to achieve this. Golf courses were desegregated in 1955, while the city's buses got desegregated in 1959 after a 2 year long bus boycott had happened. In 1964, only 1 out of every 10 restaurants in the city was desegregated. While for hotels/motels, it was even less prevalent with only 3 out of every 150 being desegregated.[4]