List of riots related to urban decay

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The riot featured on the cover of the August 4, 1967 edition of Time magazine.

Many, but not all riots have occurred in urban places suffering from the co-morbid problems of urban decay:

This is a list of riots that have occurred under (and in some cases in part in response to) conditions of urban decay.

[edit] Riots

1909 Greek Town Riot: ?, 1909, South Omaha US, During a period of economic downturn in the city, a successful community of Greeks in Omaha, Nebraska is burnt to the ground by a mob from Omaha. This happens after they almost lynched a Greek immigrant accused of having sex with a "white" woman.

1919 Omaha Race Riot of 1919: 28 Sep, 1919, Omaha US, Previous to the Red Summer of 1919, "white" soldiers returning from WWI attempted to gain their former jobs back. After discovering the positions they formerly occupied had been filled by Eastern European immigrants and African Americans from the US South, these groups rioted across the US. In Omaha one such mob lynched an African American man and the city mayor; he escaped when cut down just before he died - the African American did not. The mob also raided black neighborhoods and destroyed a new county courthouse. No one was ever convicted.

Philadelphia 1964 race riot: 28 Aug, 1964, Philadelphia US, Allegations of police brutality sparked the Columbia Avenue race riots.^[3]

Watts Riots: 11 Aug, 1965, Los Angeles US, The McCone Commission investigated the riots finding that causes included poverty, inequality, racial discrimination and the passage, in November 1964, of Proposition 14 on the California ballot overturning the Rumford Fair Housing Act, which established equality of opportunity for black home buyers.^[4]

Hough Riots: 18 Jul, 1966, Cleveland US, The underlying causes of the riots may found in the social conditions that exist in the ghettos of Cleveland.^[5]

North Omaha riot: 5 Jul, 1966, North Omaha US, More than 500 black youth gathered to protest the absence of recreation programs and jobs storm a local business district, throwing rocks and bricks at Jewish-owned businesses in the area. The National Guard is called in after three days of random violence and organized raids.^[6]

1967 Newark riots: 12 Jul, 1967, Newark US, Factors that contributed to the Newark Riot: police brutality, political exclusion of blacks from city government, urban renewal, inadequate housing, unemployment, poverty, and rapid change in the racial composition of neighborhoods.^[7]

12th Street riot: 23 Jul, 1967, Detroit US, The origins of urban unrest in Detroit were rooted in a multitude of political, economic, and social factors including police abuse, lack of affordable housing, urban renewal projects, economic inequality, black militancy, and rapid demographic change.^[8]

1968 Washington, D.C. riots: 04 Apr, 1968, Washington US, A report from National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders identified discrimination and poverty as the root causes of the riots that erupted in cities around the nation during the late 1960's and in Washington, DC in April 1968^[9]

1969 North 24th Street Riots: 24 Jun, 1969, North Omaha US, An Omaha police officer fatally shoots a teenager in the back of the head during a gathering of youth in local public housing projects. Many youth and adults from the local African American community gather in the local business district, routinely burning and otherwise destroying non-Black-owned businesses.^[10]

New York City blackout of 1977: 13 Jul, 1977, New York City US, That massive blackout was viewed by some as one symptom of the city's decline.^[11]

Arthur McDuffie: 08 May, 1980, Miami US, black outrage at "a double standard of justice" ^[13]

1985 Peckham Riots: 01 Oct, 1985, London UK, A report by Lord Scarman acknowleged much of the widespread unrest had its roots in social and economic deprivation and in racial discrimination. ^[17]

Brixton Riot (1995): 13 Dec, 1985, London UK, Alex Owolade, chairman of the anti-racist group Movement for Justice, said the violence was a rebellion against years of "racist injustice" by police in an impoverished area plagued by racial tension.^[18]

Jakarta riots of May 1998: May 1998, Indonesia, triggered by economic decline; problems were both urban and rural^[20]

2001 Cincinnati riots: 10 Apr, 2001, Cincinnati US, An Enquirer reporter, Kristina Goetz, reported that the lack of progress on perennial inner-city problems such as inadequate child and health care, failing schools, and low rates of minority home ownership was a contributing factor.^[21]

2005 Macquarie Fields riots: 25 Feb, 2005, Sydney Australia, There is an open debate about the cause of this riot. One side cites economic factors and racism.^[22]

2005 Toledo Riot: 15 Oct, 2005, Toledo US, Residents at forum named poverty, above other causes, as the kindling for the riot.^[23]

2005 Birmingham riots: 22 Oct, 2005, Birmingham UK, Many white and more affluent African-Caribbean residents have moved out of Birmingham, signaling a rapid change in the racial composition of neighborhoods.^[24]