12th Street Riots In Detroit

The city of Detroit is one of many cities that have had a significant impact on American culture. Moreover, Detroit also is important it was one of the cities that pioneered the civil rights movement. One of the major events that would go down as one of the most influential was the Race Riots of 1967, or more aptly known as the 12th Street Riots. The circumstances that lead to the riots were quite deep seated and bore historical significance. When, after the civil war slavery was abolished towards the end of the 19th century, many African Americans were left in doubts as to their future prospects. Some opted to stay and work for their former masters turned employers. Whereas, on the other hand a staggering number of African Americans

One of which was Detroit. The city had an increase in population significantly but there was not enough housing to cater to the mass influx of new migrants. African Americans had to endure discriminatory behavior in housing and employment. They had compete with rural white southern migrants as well as immigrants from southern and eastern Europe, for lower class jobs which no one else really wanted. Some of the patterns of racial and ethnic segregation persisted after other social discrimination had eased by the mid-20th century. Segregation was not only on the basis of color but also on the basis of religious beliefs, as different rival sects sought to assert their authority.White mobs enforced the segregation of housing up through the 1960's. When the white residents realized that their new neighbors were African American; they would gather outside their house and start rioting. In 1956, mayor Orville Hubbard of Dearborn, boasted to the Montgomery Advertiser that "Negroes can't get in here...These people are so anti-colored, much more than you in Alabama." While discussing such controversial topics, the autobiography of Malcolm X, which he narrated to Alex Haley, comes to mind. In his biography he talks about segregation , housing, corruption and various other social issues that were afflicting the African American Community. In 1964,Rosa

Factors were a combination of changes in technology, increased automation, consolidation of the auto industry, taxation policies, the need for different kinds of manufacturing space, and the construction of the highway system that eased transportation. Major companies like Pakard, Hudson, and Studebaker, as well as hundreds of smaller companies, went out of business. In the 1950s, the unemployment rate hovered near 10 percent. Between 1946 and 1956, GM spent $3.4 billion on new plants, Ford $2.5 billion, and Chrysler $700 million, opening a total of 25 auto plants, all in Detroit's suburbs. As a result, workers who could do so, left Detroit for jobs in the suburbs. Other middle-class residents left the city for newer housing, in a pattern repeated nationwide. In the 1960s, the city lost about 10,000 residents per year to the suburbs. Detroit's population fell by 179,000 between 1950 and 1960, and by another 156,000 residents by 1970, which affected all its retail businesses and city