1970 Memorial Park riot

Last updated

1970 Memorial Park riots
DateAugust 24–27, 1970
Location
Oakland County, Michigan
Caused byPolice shutting down a park popular with youths
Parties
Local youths
Law enforcement
Number
2000
Casualties
InjuriesSeveral
Arrested754

The 1970 Memorial Park riot was a civil disturbance by alienated white youths that began in Royal Oak, Michigan, on August 24, 1970, and spread to Birmingham, Michigan, both primarily white middle class suburbs of Detroit. The initial conflict resulted from the closure by police of Memorial Park in Royal Oak. Authorities said that the park was being used as a marketplace for the sale of illegal drugs. The riot lasted for three days, and led to the formation of several youth controlled social service organizations.

Contents

Background

Memorial Park had become a gathering place for members of the counterculture and youth who were interested in social issues and music. In the summer of 1969, a youth group called Youth for Peace, Freedom and Justice began holding communal suppers in the park, and also obtained a permit for free film showings in the park, including films produced by The Newsreel film collective.

Antiwar discussions were often held at the park. On May 6, 1970 a demonstration at the downtown Royal Oak draft board office occurred. Five youths were arrested, and a policeman and three protesters were slightly injured. [1]

By the summer of 1970, Memorial Park was well known as a gathering place for local youths.

Officials stated that the youths had a "protective attitude" toward the public park. The youths had gone through community channels to create activity options for local youth. [2] Fifteen "hippie-garbed" undercover police officers [3] infiltrated the scene at the park, documenting illegal drug use.

Closure of Memorial Park and first night of rioting

On the evening of Monday, August 24, 1970, the Royal Oak Police Department closed Memorial Park and ordered the people in the park to disperse. Some of the police officers were "firing revolvers in the air" when they entered the park. [4]

In response to the park's closure, a March to the Park was organized. A few hundred youths were held back from entering the public park by police. The youth staged a sit in and began to sing songs. A four-hour stand off with the police occurred that night. Some youths responded by throwing bottles and rocks and breaking windows on Woodward Avenue, one of the main traffic arteries in the Detroit metropolitan area. [4]

Mrs. Ralph Akens, a woman living adjacent to the park, asked, "How would you like 500 trashy hippies across the street from you?", and supported an indefinite closure of the park. [2]

Second night of rioting

On Tuesday night, the rioting spread north and south along Woodward Avenue. Royal Oak officials imposed a curfew lasting from 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. By the end of the second night of rioting, approximately 100 youths had been arrested. [5]

Third night of rioting

Because of the curfew imposed in Royal Oak, a crowd of 1000 angry youth gathered on Wednesday night in Birmingham to the north, at that city's border with Royal Oak. There, they confronted a number of local city police departments at the Royal Oak city limits and clashes ensued with police. In response, the city of Birmingham also imposed a curfew on Wednesday night, [6] due to "rioting, disturbances and destruction of property". [7] The "tight curfews" [7] were successful in reducing the violence, along with mass arrests of youths on the streets. City officials considered asking for assistance from the National Guard if the curfews arrests were not effective in ending the rioting, [2] but that was not necessary.

It was estimated that up to 2000 youths had participated in the rioting, [2] and at least 564 were arrested. [3] [8]

One police officer suffered a possible broken shoulder due to a thrown rock, and another was cut by flying glass when windows on both sides of his squad car were broken by rocks. [7]

Fourth day developments and curfew arrests

On Thursday, August 27, a newly formed youth group called the People's Defense Committee called a press conference at the Record House in Ferndale, Michigan, to discuss a legal response to the arrests. An organization called Birmingham Youth Assistance also called for a meeting of concerned youth. [6] A group of seven youth leaders had a meeting with Royal Oak city officials. [3]

Although no violence occurred on Thursday night, there were about 90 arrests for curfew violations. The curfews were lifted later that night because the violence had ended. [6]

Young Peoples Coalition and Center House

In the aftermath of the riots, an organization called the Young People's Coalition was formed and controlled by the disaffected youth, with the assistance of the Family Service Agency of Oakland County, Michigan. The People's Defense Committee entered this coalition, with support from employees of a local business called the Record House, which sold rock and roll music. The coalition's goal was to "relate to the street people who are involved with the drug abuse problem", and the group recognized that the issues had a political basis. [9]

The coalition planned a "drop-in center" and "rap line", and announced a fundraising drive with an initial goal of $1,400.00. One organizer, 17-year-old Pamela Applin, said, "I'd like to see people communicate at a higher level than throwing rocks and arguing." [10] Another organizer, 18-year-old Denny Bastin, said that "We'd like people to talk about what's really inside them." [10] They spoke out against gender discrimination in the schools, said Bastin, and the tendency of society to discriminate against disaffected youth for their "beliefs, looks and actions", said Applin, who urged that the youth be judged as individuals rather than as a whole. [10]

The rap line operation was under operation in Ferndale in 1971 under the name "Center House". Young People's Coalition organizer Jim Heaphy said, "We get calls on drug abuse, general rap problems, parents, jobs, suicides, draft and legal information, all kinds of different things. We refer a lot of callers to other agencies." [11] The Young People's Coalition also operated a drop-in center at the YMCA in Royal Oak, a coffee house in the YWCA in Ecorse, Michigan, and an anonymous drug analysis program. A free clinic at Center House opened in July, 1971. [11] Financial support was provided by local businesses serving the counterculture, including the Record House, the Speakeasy Boutique, The Happy Apple, the Unisex Shop and the Waterbed Store. [11]

1971 baseball bust

On Sunday, April 25, 1971, youths attempted to re-open access to the park by holding a baseball game there. Five police squad cars and a paddy wagon responded, and arrested 21 youths. The People's Defense Committee promptly mobilized lawyers and bail bondsmen to provide assistance to those arrested. A demonstration of 100 youths was held outside the Royal Oak police station, but the police announced their intention to continue arresting youths who gathered at the park. The city council and police had joined forces to keep their city free from the “freaks”. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1967 Detroit riot</span> American riot

The 1967 Detroit riot, also known as the 12th Street Riot and the Detroit Uprising, was the bloodiest of the urban riots in the United States during the "long, hot summer of 1967". Composed mainly of confrontations between African American residents and the Detroit Police Department, it began in the early morning hours of Sunday July 23, 1967, in Detroit, Michigan.

The Algiers Motel incident occurred in Detroit, Michigan, United States, throughout the night of July 25–26, 1967, during the racially charged 12th Street Riot. At the Algiers Motel, approximately one mile east of where the riot began, three civilians were killed and nine others abused by a riot task force composed of the Detroit Police Department, the Michigan State Police, and the Michigan Army National Guard. Among the casualties were three black teenage boys killed, and two white women and seven black men wounded. The task force was searching the area after reports were received that a gunman or group of gunmen, possibly snipers, had been seen at or near the motel.

The 1991 Washington, D.C., riot, sometimes referred to as the Mount Pleasant riot or Mount Pleasant Disturbance, occurred in May 1991, when rioting broke out in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in response to an African-American female police officer having shot a Salvadoran man in the chest following a Cinco de Mayo celebration.

The Plainfield riots was one of 159 race riots that swept cities in the United States during the "Long Hot Summer of 1967". This riot was a series of racially charged violent disturbances that occurred in Plainfield, New Jersey, which mirrored the 1967 Newark riots in nearby Newark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goose Lake International Music Festival</span> 1970 multiday rock event in Michigan, US

The Goose Lake International Music Festival held August 7–9, 1970, in Leoni Township, Michigan, "was one of the largest music events of its era", and featured many of the top rock music bands of the period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2005 French riots</span>

The following is a timeline of the 2005 French riots that began Thursday, 27 October 2005. Where the source lists events as occurring in a night and following morning, this article lists them on the date of the night, not the following morning. The extent table in the main article does the opposite.

The Tompkins Square Park riot occurred on August 6–7, 1988 in Tompkins Square Park, located in the East Village and Alphabet City neighborhoods of Manhattan, New York City. Groups of "drug pushers, homeless people and young people known as squatters and punks," had largely taken over the park. The East Village and Alphabet City communities were divided about what, if anything, should be done about it. The local governing body, Manhattan Community Board 3, recommended, and the New York City Parks Department adopted a 1 a.m. curfew for the previously 24-hour park, in an attempt to bring it under control. On July 31, a protest rally against the curfew saw several clashes between protesters and police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1943 Detroit race riot</span> Racial violence in Michigan

The 1943Detroit race riot took place in Detroit, Michigan, from the evening of June 20 through to the early morning of June 22. It occurred in a period of dramatic population increase and social tensions associated with the military buildup of U.S. participation in World War II, as Detroit's automotive industry was converted to the war effort. Existing social tensions and housing shortages were exacerbated by racist feelings about the arrival of nearly 400,000 migrants, both African-American and White Southerners, from the Southeastern United States between 1941 and 1943. The migrants competed for space and jobs against the city's residents as well as against European immigrants and their descendants. The riot escalated after a false rumor spread that a mob of whites had thrown a black mother and her baby into the Detroit River. Blacks looted and destroyed white property as retaliation. Whites overran Woodward to Veron where they proceeded to violently attack black community members and tip over 20 cars that belonged to black families.

Riots often occur in reaction to a perceived grievance or out of dissent. Riots may be the outcome of a sporting event, although many riots have occurred due to poor working or living conditions, government oppression, conflicts between races or religions.

The Falls Curfew, also called the Battle of the Falls, was a British Army operation during 3–5 July 1970 in the Falls district of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The operation began as a search for weapons in the staunchly Irish nationalist district. As the search ended, local youths attacked the British soldiers with stones and petrol bombs and the soldiers responded with CS gas. This quickly developed into gun battles between British soldiers and the Irish Republican Army (IRA). After four hours of continuous clashes, the British commander sealed off the area, which comprised 3,000 homes, and imposed a curfew which would last for 34 hours. Thousands of British troops moved into the curfew zone and carried out house-to-house searches for weapons, while coming under intermittent attack from the IRA and rioters. The searches caused much destruction, and a large amount of CS gas was fired into the area. Many residents complained of suffering abuse at the hands of the soldiers. On 5 July, the curfew was brought to an end when thousands of women and children from Andersonstown marched into the curfew zone with food and other supplies for the locals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Assam violence</span> Ethnic violence in Assam, India

In July 2012, violence in the Indian state of Assam broke out with riots between indigenous Bodos and Bengali Muslims in the Bodoland region of North East, India. The first incident was reported to have taken place on 20 July 2012. At least 108 people died and over 400,000 people were displaced into 270 relief camps, after being displaced from almost 400 villages. Eleven people have been reported missing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ culture in Metro Detroit</span>

The LGBT community in Metro Detroit is centered in Ferndale, Michigan, as of 2007. As of 1997, many LGBT people live in Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, and Royal Oak. Model D stated in 2007 that there are populations of gays and lesbians in some Detroit neighborhoods such as East English Village, Indian Village, Lafayette Park, and Woodbridge and that the concentration of gay bars in Detroit is "decentralized".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Baltimore protests</span> Protests against police brutality in Baltimore, Maryland

On April 12, 2015, Baltimore Police Department officers arrested Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American resident of Baltimore, Maryland. Gray's neck and spine were injured while he was in a police vehicle and he went into a coma. On April 18, there were protests in front of the Western district police station. Gray died on April 19.

The 1967 Toledo riot was one of 159 race riots that swept cities in the United States during the "Long Hot Summer of 1967".

The George Floyd riots in Chicago were a series of civil disturbances in 2020 in the city of Chicago, Illinois. Unrest in the city began as a response to the murder of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. The demonstrations and riots, supporting justice for Floyd and protesting police brutality, occurred simultaneously with those of over 100 other cities in the United States. Chicago is among 12 major cities that declared curfews in order to prevent looting and vandalism. On May 31, Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to send the Illinois National Guard to Chicago for the first time in the 52 years since the 1968 riots in Chicago. The economic damage caused by the disturbances exceeded $66 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in Michigan</span> Protests in Michigan caused by the murder of George Floyd

This is a list of protests that took place in Michigan in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.

This is a list of protests in Rhode Island related to the murder of George Floyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Minneapolis false rumors riot</span> Unrest after a suicide incident

False rumors of a police shooting resulted in rioting, arson, and looting in the U.S. city of Minneapolis from August 26–28, 2020. The events began as a reaction to the suicide of Eddie Sole Jr., a 38-year old black man who was being pursued by Minneapolis police officers for his alleged involvement in a homicide. At approximately 2 p.m. on August 26, Sole died after he shot himself in the head as officers approached to arrest him. False rumors quickly spread on social media that Minneapolis police officers had fatally shot Sole. To quell unrest, Minneapolis police released closed-circuit television surveillance footage that captured Sole's suicide, which was later confirmed by a Hennepin County Medical Examiner's autopsy report.

References

  1. ↑ Gainor, Paul (May 7, 1970). "Police, 100 youths battle in Royal Oak". Detroit News . pp. 23–A.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Brown, Dick (August 28, 1970). "Suburbs Ask, 'Why Here?'". Windsor Star . The Canadian Press. p. 25. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "Curfew brings suburb peace". Windsor Star . United Press International. August 28, 1970. p. 25. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "800 youths battle police in Royal Oak over park closing, youths riot". Windsor Star . August 25, 1970. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  5. ↑ "500 Teens Jailed in 3-Night Rampage". Press-Courier . Oxnard, California. Associated Press. August 27, 1970. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 "Two Detroit Suburbs Quiet; Youths Seek To End Strife: Meeting Called To Study Grievances in Birmingham, Royal Oak Strife". Toledo Blade . Associated Press. August 27, 1970. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 "Suburb strife spreads to Birmingham". Windsor Star . Associated Press. August 27, 1970. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  8. ↑ "The Youth Scene: Concern and Confrontation". Palm Beach Post . August 30, 1970. p. 8. Retrieved April 29, 2012.[ dead link ]
  9. ↑ Trock, Jody (November 5, 1970). "Young People's Coalition Attacks Drug Problem". Birmingham Eccentric. pp. 4–C.
  10. 1 2 3 Dysarz, Evelyn A. (1970). "'Drop-In Center' Youth Group's Goal: Need $1,400, Facilities". Daily Tribune. Royal Oak, Michigan.
  11. 1 2 3 "Stores Donate Percentage of Profits to Center House". Daily Tribune. Royal Oak, Michigan. June 24, 1971. p. 32.
  12. ↑ "Memorial Park '71 Opening Game: Baseball Bust". Fifth Estate . Detroit, Michigan. April 29, 1971.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.