Do people regret the 1967 riot?

[48009]

Detroit was progressive in the 60s? I'd never stepped foot in Michigan until '09, so I may be way off base but Detroit sounded racist as hell during that time frame.

For African Americans, apparently the home ownership, pay and education rates were the highest in the country. But somehow, Detroit was the worst riot. Doesn't seem very justified.

[TexasT]

For African Americans, apparently the home ownership, pay and education rates were the highest in the country. But somehow, Detroit was the worst riot. Doesn't seem very justified.

African-Americans were disproportionately in the South. So to say that something is better than pre-civil rights southern Alabama doesn't mean much because that standard is pretty damn low.

On a side note, I have my own theory as to why you didn't see similar riots in the South but it's purely speculative. I think the portion of the Southern black population that would get sick of it and react did just that...and they left for other areas, got the eff out. The black population's mentality towards inequality back home [[my family included) is way more...docile/subservient than up here. It's just bred into the culture down there from the days of slavery I guess. I mean, you had Southerners siccing dogs, blowing up churches and killing children and what do you get...a damn sit in? Meanwhile, in Detroit, bust up a party, oh hell no, burn the city! Anyways, that's just my anecdotal guess. Up here, blacks worked alongside whites in factories and made good money, owned houses - I'm sure that actually made it harder to take second class citizenship in other facets of life compared to back down South, where you never even got a chance to get that thought that you were "as good as white folk."

[Bagley]

For African Americans, apparently the home ownership, pay and education rates were the highest in the country. But somehow, Detroit was the worst riot. Doesn't seem very justified.

Right, great pay and education only served to burst the illusion that the American Dream was open to minorities. There were tons of restrictive covenants and unwritten rules keeping gainfully employed, educated people in slums. Their inability to demonstrate upward mobility due to racism made them work that much harder but gave excuse seekers ammunition as well.

[Wesley Mouch]

For African Americans, apparently the home ownership, pay and education rates were the highest in the country. But somehow, Detroit was the worst riot. Doesn't seem very justified.

Two thoughts:

1) Reactions to injustice aren't rational.

2) Radicals often act when progress doesn't go their way, or fast enough.

60s were a time when 'bringing down the system' was thought to be a noble cause. The results weren't always good.

One might wonder about the world where MLK drove change more than Malcolm X.

[hew]

For African Americans, apparently the home ownership, pay and education rates were the highest in the country. But somehow, Detroit was the worst riot. Doesn't seem very justified.

it seems important to note that those figures are always in proportion to the profits of business owners. at some point knowing you are doing alright only because others are doing terrific gets a little noxious. the rift between rich and poor is exacerbated by the 'urban' reality of shared space. not to mention the constant racial tension in factories- pitting one group against another was a method of driving down labor costs, and managing a calculated insecurity.