Cairo riot
The Cairo riot was a race riot in Cairo, Illinois, that began on July 17, 1967, and persisted through three days of riots and protests.
The incident began with the alleged jailhouse suicide of Private Robert Hunt, a young African-American soldier on leave in his hometown of Cairo. Police said Hunt hanged himself with his t-shirt, but Cairo's African-American residents challenged that story. The death touched off three days of riots and protests, followed by a seven-year renewal of civil rights activities in the city.