Who / What was primarily responsible for the riots of the 1960s?

by Student Body on 03/15/16

Riots of the 1960s were primarily rebellions against terrible circumstances. If you were fortunate enough to grow up middle class or better (i.e. Paris Hilton) then it would be very difficult for you to understand the anger, despair and frustration of growing up black amongst inner city poverty.

Ghettos become prisons without walls, an inescapable vortex of grief. When entire communities are saturated with this frustration, then the time bomb begins to tick. The most dangerous person in any society if the one who believes they have nothing to lose.

Comments (12)

1. Julius Somers said on 4/2/16 - 02:26PM

I suppose LBJ gets a lot of the blame because all the riots happened on his watch. The cold irony is that Johnson passed more civil rights legislation than any president. Some presidents just come along at the wrong time. LBJ was one of those.

2. Sylvester James said on 4/13/16 - 04:58PM

We used to live in Black Bottom, on Catherine street. We came from Georgia. Henry Ford used to send agents to the Deep South to recruit blacks to work in the factories, also to use as muscle against the uaw. Blacks built Detroit as much as whites did but got no credit. Police were an extension of white society. Most all blacks in Detroit came from the south and thought they had left civil rights issues behind only to have them reappear. Blacks had no power in their own neighborhood despite being an all-black neighborhood. Sooner or later the lid was going to blow.

3. Antionne Askin said on 5/14/16 - 11:46AM

Every city has its share of nefarious characters. Blue collar crooks steal tv sets. White collar crooks steal legally and often times invisibly. It only takes a few characters to ignite a volatile, but dormant, community. This is what happened in Detroit.

4. Glen Lenhoff said on 12/26/16 - 12:33AM

I lived in the Detroit area back then, and I remember Bizon.I never knew his real name was Irving Goldstein.After the riots, he opened another pawn shop in the Detroit area in a different location.Actually, Bizon was not a bad guy.Although he worked intensely, he had a friendly genial side.

5. Aaron B. Lewis said on 2/28/17 - 09:50PM

I am creating a 12th St Community Develpment Corporation with a group of former and current residents of 12th street. This is one of the most informative and through sites regarding the rebellion I have come across. I would like to connect with the creator. Thank you

6. Robert John McLucas said on 6/12/17 - 09:22AM

People knew weeks before the riots and even those connected to Bizon. The location of 12th steet and Clairmount was picked primarily for its Masonic symbol significance. 12the letter="L" Carpenters square, Clairmount= "C" for "Compass or divider. The invisible "G". Check out what G.Gordon Liddy was doing Poughkipsee, New York at the same time.WXYZ Newscaster Jim Herrington did his Naval Intelligence "bones" at Gitmo in Cuba.You buch of stupid mamalukes.

7. cram said on 7/20/17 - 03:38PM

I was present at the start of the 1967 Detroit riots. I was with a "Big Brother" chaperone and he took me to Detroit so he could gamble. He loss miserably and I was held as collateral in the upstairs of Economy Printing. When the deadline lapsed I was taken down the street and sold to a place that accomodated people who payed to rape & murder young boys. I peeked through the door and witnessed one incident. there were policemen standing guard at the door. I escaped and ended up at the corner of 12th and Clairmont when that rock was thrown. That man; "greensleeves" was behind me. Iwas taken into police custody and escaped amid the confusion and was ultimately smuggled out of the city. Any movie that attempts to recreate this without the "white boy" is faux and is ultimately inaccurate.

8. !@#$% said on 8/5/17 - 06:39PM

I was 7 when it happened. I grew up on w grand blvd not far from the troops at clark park. It was total chaos as the white folks were very afraid ( I'm white ) It was amazing at how much hate there was back there. I'm glad to not endure that lifestyle anymore. I'm surprised that it hasn't happened again as it does not seem to be any better there. When will it get better ?

9. Mr B. said on 8/7/17 - 09:08PM

Rebellion or Riot? I pick riot as the accurate term. Rebellion changes the power structure. Rioting is looting and burning your own neighborhood.

10. dblsecretprob said on 8/22/17 - 07:17PM

What more can be said about the stupidity of people who would burn down their community? Shoot Firemen who were trying to prevent this inferno? Generations later, their horrific actions still haunt children and grandchildren as the lawless community they desired is still in place.

11. Ric said on 10/31/18 - 12:01AM

Irving bizon ( Goldstein) resurfaced in the early seventies and had a store at Nine Mile and Greenfield kind of Variety Store. He sold everything from dinnerware sets to clocks to radios.

12. Hilda M Saulsbury said on 5/16/21 - 03:17PM

At the time of the riot in Detroit, Michigan I was entering the second year of college, and at the same time I lived in Camden, Camden, New Jersey, while not in college, with a parent. When I heard about and saw some of the devastation of this riot, I thought I hope it does not do harm to me. Little did I know several years later I saw the "tale end of it." Indirectly I was watched, stared at, and almost beat to death, and I had to protect a parent from being beaten. Sometimes I wonder if a person was looking for a scapegoat.

Leave a comment

1.	Julius Somers said on 4/2/16 - 02:26PM
	I suppose LBJ gets a lot of the blame because all the riots happened on his watch. The cold irony is that Johnson passed more civil rights legislation than any president. Some presidents just come along at the wrong time. LBJ was one of those.
2.	Sylvester James said on 4/13/16 - 04:58PM
	We used to live in Black Bottom, on Catherine street. We came from Georgia. Henry Ford used to send agents to the Deep South to recruit blacks to work in the factories, also to use as muscle against the uaw. Blacks built Detroit as much as whites did but got no credit. Police were an extension of white society. Most all blacks in Detroit came from the south and thought they had left civil rights issues behind only to have them reappear. Blacks had no power in their own neighborhood despite being an all-black neighborhood. Sooner or later the lid was going to blow.
3.	Antionne Askin said on 5/14/16 - 11:46AM
	Every city has its share of nefarious characters. Blue collar crooks steal tv sets. White collar crooks steal legally and often times invisibly. It only takes a few characters to ignite a volatile, but dormant, community. This is what happened in Detroit.
4.	Glen Lenhoff said on 12/26/16 - 12:33AM
	I lived in the Detroit area back then, and I remember Bizon.I never knew his real name was Irving Goldstein.After the riots, he opened another pawn shop in the Detroit area in a different location.Actually, Bizon was not a bad guy.Although he worked intensely, he had a friendly genial side.
5.	Aaron B. Lewis said on 2/28/17 - 09:50PM
	I am creating a 12th St Community Develpment Corporation with a group of former and current residents of 12th street. This is one of the most informative and through sites regarding the rebellion I have come across. I would like to connect with the creator. Thank you
6.	Robert John McLucas said on 6/12/17 - 09:22AM
	People knew weeks before the riots and even those connected to Bizon. The location of 12th steet and Clairmount was picked primarily for its Masonic symbol significance. 12the letter="L" Carpenters square, Clairmount= "C" for "Compass or divider. The invisible "G". Check out what G.Gordon Liddy was doing Poughkipsee, New York at the same time.WXYZ Newscaster Jim Herrington did his Naval Intelligence "bones" at Gitmo in Cuba.You buch of stupid mamalukes.
7.	cram said on 7/20/17 - 03:38PM
	I was present at the start of the 1967 Detroit riots. I was with a "Big Brother" chaperone and he took me to Detroit so he could gamble. He loss miserably and I was held as collateral in the upstairs of Economy Printing. When the deadline lapsed I was taken down the street and sold to a place that accomodated people who payed to rape & murder young boys. I peeked through the door and witnessed one incident. there were policemen standing guard at the door. I escaped and ended up at the corner of 12th and Clairmont when that rock was thrown. That man; "greensleeves" was behind me. Iwas taken into police custody and escaped amid the confusion and was ultimately smuggled out of the city. Any movie that attempts to recreate this without the "white boy" is faux and is ultimately inaccurate.
8.	!@#$% said on 8/5/17 - 06:39PM
	I was 7 when it happened. I grew up on w grand blvd not far from the troops at clark park. It was total chaos as the white folks were very afraid ( I'm white ) It was amazing at how much hate there was back there. I'm glad to not endure that lifestyle anymore. I'm surprised that it hasn't happened again as it does not seem to be any better there. When will it get better ?
9.	Mr B. said on 8/7/17 - 09:08PM
	Rebellion or Riot? I pick riot as the accurate term. Rebellion changes the power structure. Rioting is looting and burning your own neighborhood.
10.	dblsecretprob said on 8/22/17 - 07:17PM
	What more can be said about the stupidity of people who would burn down their community? Shoot Firemen who were trying to prevent this inferno? Generations later, their horrific actions still haunt children and grandchildren as the lawless community they desired is still in place.
11.	Ric said on 10/31/18 - 12:01AM
	Irving bizon ( Goldstein) resurfaced in the early seventies and had a store at Nine Mile and Greenfield kind of Variety Store. He sold everything from dinnerware sets to clocks to radios.
12.	Hilda M Saulsbury said on 5/16/21 - 03:17PM
	At the time of the riot in Detroit, Michigan I was entering the second year of college, and at the same time I lived in Camden, Camden, New Jersey, while not in college, with a parent. When I heard about and saw some of the devastation of this riot, I thought I hope it does not do harm to me. Little did I know several years later I saw the "tale end of it." Indirectly I was watched, stared at, and almost beat to death, and I had to protect a parent from being beaten. Sometimes I wonder if a person was looking for a scapegoat.