Newark riots (July 12-17, 1967)
The backdrop: Running almost a week in 1967, these New Jersey riots wound up killing 26 people and injuring hundreds more. Black residents of the city had grown tired and angry at repeated incidences of police brutality, as well as a growing feeling of being disenfranchised.
The final straw: A pair of white cops arrested a black cab driver for improperly passing them and took him to their precinct building, across the street from public housing. Residents of the project saw an “incapacitated” black man being dragged inside, and though the driver was taken to a hospital, rumor spread that he’d died in police custody. With that, the civil unrest tipped over and erupted into a week of riots.
Riots after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (April 1968)
The backdrop: The killing of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the heat of the civil rights movement of the 1960s was a dark moment among the many from that era. King was a leader for a generation, and his death angered and saddened millions.
The final straw: KingÂ’s assassination instantly gripped the nation and sparked riots in more than 60 cities. Washington, D.C., rioted for four days, with mass looting and injuries, and the swelling crowds at one point spread to within two blocks of the White House. Baltimore exploded into a riot, as well, and 5,000 soldiers from Fort Bragg deployed to the city to maintain order. Citizens in Chicago rioted and spread out over almost 30 blocks along West Madison Street, and the Illinois National Guard came in to assist police. Nationwide damages were well into the millions.
The Rodney King riots (April 29-May 4, 1992)
The backdrop: Rodney King, a black man on parole, led officers on a high-speed chase through Los Angeles before being caught and beaten. The beating was captured on the officersÂ’ car cameras, and all four were charged with using excessive force. After a weekÂ’s deliberation, all four were acquitted of assault and three of the four acquitted of the excessive force charge.
The final straw: The verdict sent local black and Hispanic communities into a frenzy at the perceived injustice, and riots started to break out the evening of the verdictÂ’s reading and lasted for days. There were many retaliatory attacks, including Reginald Denny, a white truck driver whose vicious beating was captured by a live news camera from above. All told, the riots killed 53 people, injured 2,000, and cost close to $1 billion in damages.
Cincinnati riots (April 2001)
The backdrop: Racial tensions in Cincinnati had been growing for years, exacerbated by the regular deaths of young black men killed by police or in their custody. Of the 15 men who died this way between 1995 and 2001, three were unarmed. A 19-year-old black man named Timothy Thomas was killed running from police on April 7, 2001, and it was revealed that the officers acted improperly in the situation, including failure to give Thomas time to respond to the copsÂ’ commands.
The final straw: The night Thomas was killed, almost 200 residents showed up to protest at a city council meeting, and protestors assembled outside city hall. After being dispersed, they began rioting, which triggered more outbreaks of violence and vandalism across the city. The riots lasted for days, becoming the largest disorders of their kind since the Rodney King riots nine years before. The officer who shot Thomas was eventually tried and acquitted in a criminal trial.
Watts Riots (August 11-15, 1965)
The backdrop: Race relations were strained all over in the 1960s, and Los Angeles was no exception. Growing tension between blacks and whites and between police and civilians added fuel to the fire.
The final straw: A white California Highway Patrol officer pulled over and arrested a black man for driving drunk, but the growing crowd of witnesses soon turned antagonistic. The mob grew angry, and when the CHP officer wound up arresting the manÂ’s brother (also in the car) and mother, full-flegded riots broke out in the Watts section of town. Fires, violence, and looting were rampant for days, and the riots would be the biggest in L.A. history until those in 1992. The National Guard eventually came in to help. At the end of the spree, 34 people were dead, more than 2,000 injured, and almost 4,000 arrested.