1968 Miami riot

June 2023 1968 Miami Riot the Civil Rights Movement August 7–8, 1968(1968 08 07 1968 08 08) Liberty City (Miami) * Deplorable housing conditions Racial discrimination Poor economic conditions Poor police-community relations Economic competition with Cuban refugees * Vote Power League Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) * Florida Army National Guard Florida Highway Patrol Miami Police Department SCLC member Ralph Abernathy Governor of Florida Claude Kirk Mayor of Miami-Dade County Chuck Hall 3 29 200 A group of black organizations in Miami called for "a mass rally of concerned Black people," to take place on August 7, 1968, at the Vote Power building in Liberty City, a black neighborhood. Sponsors were the Vote Power League, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and numerous smaller organizations. The protest was not provoked by a specific incident, but was intended "to show their frustration with the nation's unfair political, social, and economic systems."http://werehistory.org/1968-republican-convention/ werehistory.org July 21, 2016 November 24, 2017 The 1968 Republican Convention Sarah Katherine Mergel November 20, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171120004255/http://werehistory.org/1968-republican-convention/ live Another scholar described the root causes as "discrimination, proscription, and segregation."30148880 Long Time Coming: Miami's Liberty City Riot of 1968 Eric Tscheschlok Florida Historical Quarterly 74 4 Spring 1996 440–460 A more extensive statement from the same scholar says the "major grievances... included deplorable housing conditions, economic exploitation, bleak employment prospects, racial discrimination, poor police-community relations, and economic competition with Cuban refugees."iv The date was chosen to coincide (because of the publicity opportunity) with the Republican National Convention being held in Miami Beach.MA Tscheschlok Eric G. 1995 Long Road to Rebellion: Miami's Liberty City Riot of 1968 Florida Atlantic University202 Events Outbreak After a white reporter was forcibly ejected from the "Blacks Only" rally, Miami police responded with five cars and a carbine unit, which exacerbated tensions.203–204 A white man in a car brandishing a "Wallace for President" bumper sticker attempted to drive through the vicinity. As he passed the Vote Power building, his automobile was met with a barrage of stones and bottles and crashed into another car. The driver fled on foot, and his car was overturned and set on fire. Vandals ransacked white-owned businesses in Liberty City's commercial district. Police eventually quelled the outbreak with tear gas.205 Meetings and escalation Florida governor Claude Kirk and SCLC president Ralph Abernathy, both attending the Republican National Convention, and Metro-Dade County mayor Chuck Hall arrived and held a meeting with community spokesmen. No actions to resolve the black communities' issues were agreed on. The Governor suggested that they continue the discussion at 11 AM the following morning.206–207 When, the following day, Kirk and local authorities only sent emissaries and did not appear themselves, larger-scale violence broke out. Rioters stoned police, fire-bombed area markets, and looted white-owned shops. Miami officials requested assistance from the Florida Highway Patrol, which used a cloud of tear gas dispensed by a modified version of an insect-control machine to restore order. That afternoon Miami police, responding to what they thought was sniper fire, killed two residents and left a fourteen-year-old boy with a bullet through his chest. No weapons were found in the vicinity. Police, fearing that the unrest would spread to the Overtown neighborhood, shot and killed an unarmed man there as well.207–208 National Guard deployment The Florida National Guard was called out, and a dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed. 800 National Guard and 200 sheriff deputies restored order, and heavy rains the next day ended the riot.209–210 See also 1980 Miami riots 1989 Miami riot List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States References Category:1968 in Florida Category:Riots and civil disorder in Miami-Dade County, Florida Category:1960s in Miami Category:1968 riots Category:African-American history in Miami Category:African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in Florida Category:People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Florida Category:African-American riots in the United States Category:August 1968 in the United States Category:Racially motivated violence against African Americans in Florida Category:Arson in Florida