NCJ Number
82551
Date Published
1967
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Preliminary findings are presented from a survey of the racial attitudes of blacks and whites in six northern U.S. cities, conducted as part of a study examining factors affecting urban rioting.
Abstract
Three cities where riots had occurred were paired with three cities where riots had not occurred for the purposes of analysis. The pairings were Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Dayton and Akron, Ohio, and San Francisco and Boston. In each city, a cross section of 500 blacks and 500 whites age 18 and over was interviewed with a questionnaire developed for the survey. Suburban areas were not included in the survey. Blacks in all six cities expressed high levels of dissatisfaction with job opportunities, housing, school integration, police behavior, and the efforts of the Federal and local governments to encourage integration. The cities varied on the dissatisfaction index from a high of 56 percent to a low of 35 percent. The level of dissatisfaction in a city was not found to have a direct bearing on the possibility of the city's having a riot. Further, the level of dissatisfaction in all the cities was sufficiently high to support a riot, given a precipitating incident. While blacks are impatient for change, whites tend to think integration is proceeding at the proper pace or too fast. The attitude of whites toward blacks shows an ignorance of or indifference to the factual basis of black resentment and bitterness. Although disliking violence and having mixed feelings about its effects, blacks are shifting to the opinion that only intense social protest can bring relief from social injustice. Fuller appreciation by whites of the grievances and overwhelming problems of blacks and more aggressive steps by local governments to increase opportunities for blacks in socioeconomic spheres are required to reduce the riot potential in urban centers. Tabular data are provided. (Author summary modified)