 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(January 2018) |
The 1970 Asbury Park race riots were a major civil disturbance that occurred in Asbury Park, New Jersey between July 4 and July 10, 1970. [1] The seven days of rioting, looting, and destruction left more than 180 people injured, including 15 New Jersey state troopers, and resulted in an estimated $5,600,000 in damages. [1] [2]
According to Katrina Martin in an article for the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University,
"At the time of the riots, Asbury Park was a town of 17,000, 30% of which were African-American. The town’s population increased to 80,000 with summer vacationers. The Great Depression, followed by World War II, caused the resort industry in Asbury Park to change dramatically to keep up with the times. The fancy resort stays gave way to weekend vacationers. The community maintained a steady resort community, but jobs at the resorts were frequently outsourced to white youth in the surrounding areas instead of local African American youth, which caused frustration in the community." [3]
A number of demands for youth programming by local African-American leaders had gone unmet by town leaders in the years leading up to the riots. As one blogger put it, "With the temperature in the high 90’s, no jobs, no hope for jobs, no recreation programs, and no real indication that city fathers were listening to their concerns – the west side youth were frustrated, angry and most likely feeling a sense of hopelessness." [4]
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The riots began on July 4, when African-American youth began breaking shop windows after a late dance at the West Side Community Center. [5] By July 7, a list of twenty demands—including employment for black youth and appointment of black people on the Board of Education—was sent to the city by members of the black community. [5]
The civil unrest caused an estimated $4,000,000 in damage, plus an additional $1,600,000 of cleanup costs. [3] In the aftermath, Governor Cahill asked President Nixon to declare the city a disaster area. [6] Many West side residents were displaced from their homes, and the neighborhood continued to be impacted for a number of years after the riots ended. [3]
The riots brought national attention to Asbury Park, New Jersey. The events received extensive coverage, not only in the local papers, but also in the New York Times and on the major television networks. However, they have received relatively little scholarly notice in the years following; in the words of historian Daniel Weeks,
"Some of the reasons for this neglect are obvious. Next to Los Angeles, Detroit, or Newark, where major “race riots” took place in the 1960s, Asbury Park is a small town. Then, too, in Asbury no one died, and historians, who are never immune to the culture in which they live, tend to measure the importance of civil unrest in terms of the death toll. But that is not to say what happened in Asbury is unimportant, particularly to the history of the city itself and to the history of New Jersey. Beyond these considerations, the events in Asbury Park should be remembered as part of what has been called the “Black Revolt” of the 1960s." [6]
In the broader context of racism in the United States, mass racial violence in the United States consists of ethnic conflicts and race riots, along with such events as:
Asbury Park is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a decrease of 928 (−5.8%) from the 2010 census count of 16,116, which in turn reflected a decline of 814 (−4.8%) from the 16,930 counted in the 2000 census.
The Jersey Shore, commonly referred to locally as simply the Shore, is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about 141 miles (227 km) of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Point in the south. The region includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May counties, which are in the central and southern parts of the state. Located in the center of the Northeast Megalopolis, the northern half of the shore region is part of the New York metro area, while the southern half of the shore region is part of the Philadelphia metro area. The Jersey Shore hosts the highest concentration of oceanside boardwalks in the United States.
Red Summer was a period in mid-1919 during which white supremacist terrorism and racial riots occurred in more than three dozen cities across the United States, and in one rural county in Arkansas. The term "Red Summer" was coined by civil rights activist and author James Weldon Johnson, who had been employed as a field secretary by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1916. In 1919, he organized peaceful protests against the racial violence.
The 1967 Newark riots were an episode of violent, armed conflict in the streets of Newark, New Jersey. Taking place over a four-day period, the Newark riots resulted in at least 26 deaths and hundreds more serious injuries. Serious property damage, including shattered storefronts and fires caused by arson, left many of the city's buildings damaged or destroyed. At the height of the conflict, the National Guard was called upon to occupy the city with tanks and other military equipment, leading to iconic media depictions that were considered particularly shocking when shared in the national press. In the aftermath of the riots, Newark was quite rapidly abandoned by many of its remaining middle-class and affluent residents, as well as much of its white working-class population. This accelerated flight led to a decades-long period of disinvestment and urban blight, including soaring crime rates and gang activity.
The Chicago race riot of 1919 was a violent racial conflict between white Americans and black Americans that began on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, on July 27 and ended on August 3, 1919. During the riot, 38 people died. Over the week, injuries attributed to the episodic confrontations stood at 537, two-thirds black and one-third white; and between 1,000 and 2,000 residents, most of them black, lost their homes. Due to its sustained violence and widespread economic impact, it is considered the worst of the scores of riots and civil disturbances across the United States during the "Red Summer" of 1919, so named because of its racial and labor violence. It was also one of the worst riots in the history of Illinois.
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Avondale is one of the 52 neighborhoods of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is home to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. The population was 11,345 at the 2020 census.
The Cambridge riot of 1967 was one of 159 race riots that swept cities in the United States during the "Long Hot Summer of 1967". This riot occurred on July 24, 1967 in Cambridge, Maryland, a county seat on the Eastern Shore. For years racial tension had been high in Cambridge, where black people had been limited to second-class status. Activists had conducted protests since 1961, and there was a riot in June 1963 after the governor imposed martial law. "The Treaty of Cambridge" was negotiated among federal, state, and local leaders in July 1963, initiating integration in the city prior to passage of federal civil rights laws.
Black Detroiters are black or African American residents of Detroit. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Black or African Americans living in Detroit accounted for 79.1% of the total population, or approximately 532,425 people as of 2017 estimates. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, of all U.S. cities with 100,000 or more people, Detroit had the second-highest percentage of Black people.
Alexander J. Matturri was an American Republican Party politician and jurist who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1968 to 1972.
Missouri Avenue Beach, often referred to as "Chicken Bone Beach," is a lifeguarded beach on the Jersey Shore. It was an early and mid-twentieth-century Black resort destination and racially segregated section of the Atlantic Ocean beach near the Northside neighborhood of Atlantic City, New Jersey . The name was initially most likely a pejorative or condescending reference to the packed lunches brought by beachgoers who were not permitted by unspoken sentiment in many dining establishments, but the Black community has reclaimed the name as a point of resistance and pride. The beach is now home to swimming, sunbathing, jazz and other local events.
The Putnam County, Georgia arson attack was an attack on the black community by white mobs in May of 1919.
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The Syracuse riot of 1919 was a violent racial attack that occurred when the management of the Globe Malleable Iron Works pitted striking white unionized workers against black strikebreakers in Syracuse, New York on July 31, 1919.
The New York race riots of 1919 developed with increasing racial tension and violent incidents in New York City. These riots were a part of the Red Summer, a series of violent terrorist attacks on black communities in many cities in the United States during the summer and early autumn of 1919. The New York race riots were caused by social tensions such as competition for jobs, politics, and racial tension. Many historians and scholars view these riots as the culmination of racial tensions which had been rising due to the migration of African Americans from the rural South to northern cities. Tensions developed partly due to the competition for jobs, which was worsened by the presence of African Americans workers who could replace striking White workers.
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