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Baltimore riot of 1968
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Baltimore riot of 1968
The Baltimore riot of 1968 was a period of civil unrest that lasted from April 6 to April 14, 1968, in Baltimore. The uprising included crowds filling the streets, burning and looting local businesses, and confronting the police and national guard.
The immediate cause of the riot was the April 4 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, which triggered unrest in over 100 cities across the United States. These events are sometimes described as the Holy Week Uprising.
Spiro Agnew, the Governor of Maryland, called out thousands of National Guard troops and 500 Maryland State Police to quell the disturbance. When it was determined that the state forces could not control the rebellion, Agnew requested Federal troops from President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Between World War II and 1968, Baltimore had changed demographically. The total population remained constant, but the black percentage of the total population had grown, while other populations shrank (a shift of 200,000 people). Black communities had sub-par housing, high rates of infant mortality, and more crime. They also suffered disproportionately from the decline in Baltimore's manufacturing sector. Black unemployment was more than double the national rate, and even higher in especially poor communities. Those who did have jobs were paid less and worked in unsafe conditions.
With the spread of civil disturbances across the nation, Maryland National Guard troops were called up for state duty on April 5, 1968, in anticipation of disturbances in Baltimore or the suburban portions of Maryland bordering Washington, D.C.
Black Baltimore was quiet on April 5, despite riots in nearby Washington, D.C. One white student at UMBC reported a quiet scene, with noticeable sadness, but little violence or unrest: April 5, "in many cases, was just another day".
Baltimore remained peaceful into the day on April 6. Three hundred people gathered peacefully around noon for a memorial service, which lasted until 2 p.m. without incident. Street traffic began to increase. A crowd formed on Gay St. in East Baltimore, and by 5 p.m. some windows on the 400 block had been smashed. Police began to move in. People began to report fires after 6 p.m. Soon after, the city declared a 10 p.m. curfew and called in 6,000 troops from the national guard. Sales of alcohol and firearms were immediately banned. At this point, some reports described about a thousand people in the crowd, which moved north on Gay St. up to Harford Rd. and Greenmount Ave. Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro III was unable to respond effectively. Around 8 p.m., Governor Agnew declared a state of emergency.
Many Black Businesses managed to avoid the destruction by painting the words "Soul Brother" on their doors or windows, and the rioters knew not to attack that business.
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Baltimore riot of 1968
The Baltimore riot of 1968 was a period of civil unrest that lasted from April 6 to April 14, 1968, in Baltimore. The uprising included crowds filling the streets, burning and looting local businesses, and confronting the police and national guard.
The immediate cause of the riot was the April 4 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, which triggered unrest in over 100 cities across the United States. These events are sometimes described as the Holy Week Uprising.
Spiro Agnew, the Governor of Maryland, called out thousands of National Guard troops and 500 Maryland State Police to quell the disturbance. When it was determined that the state forces could not control the rebellion, Agnew requested Federal troops from President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Between World War II and 1968, Baltimore had changed demographically. The total population remained constant, but the black percentage of the total population had grown, while other populations shrank (a shift of 200,000 people). Black communities had sub-par housing, high rates of infant mortality, and more crime. They also suffered disproportionately from the decline in Baltimore's manufacturing sector. Black unemployment was more than double the national rate, and even higher in especially poor communities. Those who did have jobs were paid less and worked in unsafe conditions.
With the spread of civil disturbances across the nation, Maryland National Guard troops were called up for state duty on April 5, 1968, in anticipation of disturbances in Baltimore or the suburban portions of Maryland bordering Washington, D.C.
Black Baltimore was quiet on April 5, despite riots in nearby Washington, D.C. One white student at UMBC reported a quiet scene, with noticeable sadness, but little violence or unrest: April 5, "in many cases, was just another day".
Baltimore remained peaceful into the day on April 6. Three hundred people gathered peacefully around noon for a memorial service, which lasted until 2 p.m. without incident. Street traffic began to increase. A crowd formed on Gay St. in East Baltimore, and by 5 p.m. some windows on the 400 block had been smashed. Police began to move in. People began to report fires after 6 p.m. Soon after, the city declared a 10 p.m. curfew and called in 6,000 troops from the national guard. Sales of alcohol and firearms were immediately banned. At this point, some reports described about a thousand people in the crowd, which moved north on Gay St. up to Harford Rd. and Greenmount Ave. Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro III was unable to respond effectively. Around 8 p.m., Governor Agnew declared a state of emergency.
Many Black Businesses managed to avoid the destruction by painting the words "Soul Brother" on their doors or windows, and the rioters knew not to attack that business.