Joe T. Darden - Detroit: Race Riots, Racial Conflicts, and Efforts to Bridge the Racial Divide

DURING THE SUMMER OF 1967, DETROIT, MICHIGAN'S LARGEST CITY, EXPERIENCED the worst race riot in the city's history and the most severe racial conflict in the entire nation. During a two-week period, which began on July 23, at least 43 people were killed, hundreds were wounded, and numerous properties were destroyed. This urban disorder would influence racial thinking and the collective memories of blacks and whites throughout the coming decades. This book examines six basic questions. What happened? Where did it happen? Why did it happen? To what extent have the conditions that caused the riots changed since the riots? What efforts have occurred since the riots to reduce racial conflicts and build bridges across racial divides? What are the alternative futures for Detroit residents?

The ideas expressed in the book are grounded in the following themes: Place of residence matters. Spatial injustice has been a recurring problem, and a remedy worth exploring is the geography of opportunity. The book is based on a comprehensive set of data sources, both primary and secondary. It draws heavily from U.S. census reports and archival documents. The Detroit riots are examined within the contexts of two landmark governmental reports by presidential commissions that focused on race: Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission Report), published in 1968, and One America in the 21st Century: Forging a New Future, also called the John Hope Franklin Report. Both reports were initiated under Democratic administrations, and most black Detroiters have consistently been supportive of the Democratic Party.

Our socioeconomic analysis, which revealed inequality by race and place, led to a key political question: what do these two reports and our own data and analyses tell us about the effectiveness of black political leadership in Detroit in reducing racial divides? What do the results tell us about a black politically controlled city's ability to improve the lives of the predominantly black residents? In other words, what has been the effectiveness of black political power and black demographic dominance in driving socioeconomic change in Detroit?

The spark that set off the riots in Detroit was actions by the predominantly white police toward members of the black community. This book examines the relationship between the black community in Detroit and the police. The volume also examines black-white inequality and conflict in the public schools, employment and unemployment, housing, and the sharing of neighborhoods. However, racial conflict in Detroit extends beyond just blacks and whites. Thus, this volume examines Asian-white conflict, black-Arab conflict, and black-Latino conflict. The book examines organized efforts over the years to reduce the many conflicts and bridge racial divides.

The final chapter offers alternative futures for residents of Detroit. Among the alternatives is a spatial mobility strategy within the context of a geography of opportunity for those residents who want to move to greater economic and social opportunities that lie beyond the city's borders.

As members of the team of researchers who examined the racial divide in Detroit in the volume