NCJ Number
1875
Date Published
1969
Length
245 pages
Annotation
AN INVESTIGATORY RECREATION OF THE WASHINGTON RIOTS OF 1968 BY THE WASHINGTON POST.
Abstract
A FEW HOURS AFTER THE ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., ON APRIL 4TH, RIOTING BEGAN. BY THE FOLLOWING DAY, FEDERAL TROOPS WERE GUARDING THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE CAPITOL AND PATROLLING THE STREETS. BEFORE THE STATE OF EMERGENCY WAS TERMINATED, NEARLY 12,000 FEDERAL TROOPS HAD BEEN ORDERED INTO THE CITY TO HELP RESTORE ORDER. WHILE THE NUMBER ARRESTED WAS UNPRECEDENTED, DEATH DID NOT CHARACTERIZE THE RIOT AS IT HAD EARLIER IN WATTS AND DETROIT. BUT WHAT DID THE RIOT SIGNIFY? WHO WERE THE RIOTERS AND WHAT MOTIVATED THEM? WHY WERE SOME STORES LOOTED AND BURNED AND OTHERS SPARED? AND, WHAT DID THE POOR PEOPLE'S CAMPAIGN, RESURRECTION CITY, AND THE BRIEF OUTBREAK OF VIOLENCE MEAN TO THE NATION AND ITS CAPITAL? IN RECREATING THE OCCURRANCE OF THE EVENTS AND EXAMINING THE RESPONSE OF OFFICIAL WASHINGTON IN HANDLING THE RIOTS, THE STAFF OF THE WASHINGTON POST SOUGHT TO FIND AT LEAST PARTIAL ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTION. IN THE APPENDICES, AN EMPIRICAL PROFILE OF THOSE WHO WERE ARRESTED IN THE APRIL RIOT IS PROVIDED.