Newark Riot, 1967 (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes
Newark Riot, 1967
Background and context
The Newark riot occurred in July 1967, two years after the Watts riot of 1965. Newark, New Jersey, experienced severe urban problems that created conditions ripe for civil unrest. The city suffered from extreme housing segregation between black and white Americans, which had generated significant racial tension.
By 1967, Newark faced some of the worst social conditions in the entire United States. The city had the highest percentage of substandard housing in the country and the second highest rates of both crime and infant mortality. These statistics reflected the deep poverty and neglect experienced by Newark's black community.
Newark's conditions in 1967 were among the worst in America:
- Highest percentage of substandard housing in the USA
- Second highest crime rate nationally
- Second highest infant mortality rate nationally
These appalling statistics created a volatile environment where racial tension could easily explode into violence.
Underlying causes of tension
Economic and social deprivation
The black residents of Newark lived in what was effectively a ghetto environment, characterised by poor housing, high crime, and lack of opportunities. These conditions were not accidental but resulted from deliberate policies of segregation and discrimination that confined black Americans to the most deprived areas of the city.
Institutional decisions
Two specific local issues heightened racial resentment in Newark during 1967:
Key Local Controversies in 1967:
The School Board controversy: The mayor's selection of a secretary to the Newark School Board caused fighting between black and white residents. This decision was seen as another example of black Americans being excluded from influence over important local institutions.
The College of Medicine plan: Authorities planned to build the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry on a 50-acre site. Black Americans argued this valuable land should instead be used to address Newark's desperate housing shortage. This plan symbolised how the needs of the black community were consistently ignored in favour of other priorities.
Police brutality
By July 1967, the already tense social situation worsened due to what the black community perceived as systematic police brutality. Black residents felt they were being targeted and mistreated by law enforcement, creating deep anger and resentment towards authority.
Events of the riot
The trigger
In July 1967, police arrested a black taxi driver and charged him with assaulting a police officer. This arrest acted as the spark that ignited four days of intense rioting. For the black community, this incident represented yet another example of police targeting and brutalising black residents.
The unfolding violence
The riot lasted four days and involved widespread disorder across Newark. The scale of the violence and destruction alarmed state authorities and led to a military response.
National Guard intervention
The Governor of New Jersey decided to restore law and order by deploying the National Guard - a state military force used in emergencies. This decision to use armed troops against protesters reflected the seriousness with which authorities viewed the situation.
On the third day of the riot, the National Guard opened fire on rioters, significantly escalating the violence and lethality of the confrontation. This marked a turning point from riot control to deadly force.
Consequences and impact
Human cost
The Newark riot resulted in devastating casualties, almost entirely among the black community:
- 26 black Americans were killed, including ten-year-old Edward Moses, highlighting how even children became victims of the violence
- 1,000 black Americans were injured during the four days of unrest
A Tragic Pattern: The fact that all recorded deaths were black Americans raised serious questions about the conduct of the National Guard and police during the riot. The death of ten-year-old Edward Moses particularly shocked the nation and highlighted the indiscriminate nature of the violence.
Property damage
The riot caused approximately $10 million worth of property damage, reflecting the scale of destruction through looting, arson, and vandalism. This economic impact would have long-lasting effects on Newark's already struggling communities.
The Kerner Commission
Establishment
In response to the Newark riot and similar disturbances across the USA in the summer of 1967, President Johnson established the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, commonly known as the Kerner Commission, on 28th July 1967.
The Commission's task
President Johnson directed the Commission to answer three fundamental questions:
The Three Questions of the Kerner Commission:
- What happened? - establishing the facts about the riots
- Why did it happen? - identifying the underlying causes
- What can be done to prevent it from happening again? - proposing solutions
These questions formed the framework for one of the most comprehensive investigations into American racial inequality ever conducted.
Key findings
The Kerner Commission conducted extensive research, visiting riot-affected cities, hearing witnesses, and consulting experts across the country. Their conclusions were stark and controversial:
Central conclusion: The Commission declared that "Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white - separate and unequal." This assessment directly challenged the idea that America was making progress on racial equality.
Analysis of causes
The Commission identified several key factors behind the riots:
- Discrimination and segregation had long permeated American society and were now threatening the nation's future
- The riots represented a reaction against continuing racial polarization
- White institutions had created the ghetto, maintained it, and white society condoned its existence
- Segregation and poverty had created in racial ghettos "a destructive environment totally unknown to most white Americans"
Recommendations
The Kerner Commission proposed three basic principles for action:
Three Principles for Action:
- Scale: Mount programmes equal to the dimension of the problems, not token gestures
- Speed: Aim for high impact in the immediate future to close the gap between promise and performance
- Innovation: Undertake new initiatives that could change the system of failure and frustration dominating the ghetto
The Commission emphasised that this would require "compassionate, massive and sustained" national action, backed by adequate resources and potentially new taxation.
Significance
The Kerner Commission's report was significant because it:
- Placed responsibility for the riots on systemic racism and white society's role in creating ghettos, rather than blaming black communities
- Warned that without major change, America risked permanent racial division
- Called for fundamental transformation rather than simply better policing
- Acknowledged that "violence cannot build a better society" but explained why violence had erupted
The report represented an official acknowledgement that urban riots resulted from genuine grievances about inequality and injustice, not simply lawlessness. This was a radical shift in how the federal government understood and responded to racial unrest.
Historical significance
The Newark riot of 1967 demonstrated that:
- Urban poverty and segregation created explosive conditions that could erupt into major violence
- Civil rights issues were not just Southern problems but affected Northern cities too
- The geography of civil rights had shifted from rural South to urban North
- Despite civil rights legislation, black Americans in cities faced severe deprivation and felt excluded from political power
- Institutional racism operated through housing policy, education, policing, and urban planning
- Peaceful protest was giving way to more militant resistance in some communities
The riot and the Kerner Commission's response highlighted the gap between legal equality (achieved through 1960s legislation) and actual equality in housing, employment, and quality of life.
Key Points to Remember:
- Newark in 1967 had the worst housing conditions in America and exceptionally high crime and infant mortality rates, creating a powder keg of racial tension
- The riot was triggered by the arrest of a black taxi driver but resulted from deeper issues: housing segregation, controversial institutional decisions, and police brutality
- The four-day riot led to 26 deaths (all black Americans, including a ten-year-old child), 1,000 injuries, and $10 million in damage
- President Johnson's Kerner Commission concluded that America was "moving toward two societies, one black, one white - separate and unequal"
- The Commission blamed white institutions and systemic racism for creating ghetto conditions, shifting responsibility from rioters to structural inequality