1967 Race Riots Research Paper

1967 Race Riots: The Decline of Detroit
The 1967 Detroit Race Riots were called “one of the most violent urban revolts of the 20th century” (Wang, n.d.). The riots were one of the main causes for Detroit’s harsh economic decline and deterioration. The once booming city with a population of over two million people produced products that changed people’s way of living. Today, Detroit sits in poverty and is the center of despair. Through the examination of civil unrest, deindustrialization, and trends of high crime rates, it will become apparent that these events were caused by the 1967 Detroit Race Riots and led to the economic decline of the once booming motor city.
Firstly, the 1967 Detroit riots brought on civil disorders and racial tensions. Beginning in the 1950’s many middle class, mainly white residents of Detroit had begun to move to the suburbs, commuting to work on the newly built highways (Merdith, 1997). In contrast, the 1967 race riots started this demographic shift, with the violence from the riots making many residents wanting to move from the inner city of Detroit to the suburbs. This became known as “white flight” which had significant consequences as houses were left abandoned and the city’s population dropped from 1.6 million to
During the riots, the Detroit Fire Department responded to 3,034 calls as one fire expert stated that the city “narrowly averted a firestorm” (McGraw, 2016). 690 buildings were either destroyed or demolished and the majority of them never being rebuilt (McGraw, 2016). High rates of homicide and arson continued for decades in Detroit. The aftermath of the riots left neighborhoods destroyed, families homeless and piles of debris littered the streets. The race riots had a significant impact on the rise in crime rates and arson fires which are still a prominent issue facing Detroit