The Detroit Race Riot of 1943 lasted only about 24 hours from 10:30 on June 20 to 11:00 p.m. on June 21; nonetheless it was considered one of the worst riots during the World War II era. Inc., 1943); Shogan and Craig, The Detroit Race Riot; Harvard Sitkoff, "The Detroit Race Riot of 1943," Michigan History 53 (Fall 1969): 183-206; George W. Beatty, "The Background and Causes of the 1943 Detroit Race Riot," (Senior thesis, Princeton University, 1954). It might not have gotten as bad as it did, if not for the fact that rumors surfaced in both the white and black communities about racially motivated crimes against their specific communities. Although the Sojourner Truth riots resulted in no fatalities, the trouble was a warning of what was to come. Before long, others joined in with the riots that spilled out into the city, with some accounts stating cops helped dole out violence against the city’s Black residents alongside the whites. The 1943 Detroit race riot took place in Detroit, Michigan, in the U.S., from the evening of 20 th June, through the early morning of 22 nd June. Several contributing factors revolved around police brutality, and the sudden influx of black migrants from the south into the city, lured by the promise of jobs in defense plants. Mar 9, 2019 - Explore Linda Gillies's board "MI- Detroit 43 Riots", followed by 172 people on Pinterest. Even though they were equal in violence to the riots of the Civil Rights Movement in the sixties, many Americans forget the riots of the forties. On June 20, a warm Saturday evening, a fist fight broke out between a black man and a white man at the sprawling Belle Isle Amusement Park in the Detroit River. Although the riots were different because they were pre and post segregation, both riots were caused because of racial tension. The confrontations escalated, eventually moving onto the bridge connecting Belle Isle to Detroit. Jul 12, 2001 . Fighting spread to the mainland, and rumors crisscrossed the city, stoking racial tensions that had been running high and threatening to boil over into violence for months. The city suffered an estimated $2 million in property damages. The biggest and bloodiest race riot of the 1940’s took place in Detroit, Michigan, in June of 1943. Over the course of three days of rioting, 34 people had been killed: 25 were African Americans, and 17 of these were killed by the police (their forces were predominantly white and dominated by descendants of immigrants). This tension has only increased with the passing of time. "1 This is Rioting spread, with little attempt from the police to … Had not certain black spokesmen and. World War II was going on during this time, and Detroit was seen as a popular industrial city. African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African Americans and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Alma Stephenson Dever Page on Afro-britons, With Pride: Uplifting LGBTQ History On Blackpast, Preserving Martin Luther King County’s African American History, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, African American Newspapers, Magazines, and Journals. The Detroit Riot of 1943 lasted only about 24 hours from 10:30 on June 20 to 11:00 p.m. on June 21; nonetheless it was considered one of the worst riots during the World War II era. Howard Riley Columnist [email protected]. The brawl eventually grew into a confrontation between groups of blacks and whites, and then spilled into the city. The Detroit Race Riot of 1943 Race has been an issue that America has fought and struggled with since the Founding Fathers laid down its foundation. First it had to do with the war effort, then the economy became more driven by the newly formed middle class. In 1943, race riots convulsed cities around the U.S., from Southern California’s infamous “zoot suit riots” in early June to widespread conflicts in St. Louis, New York, Baltimore and elsewhere. On May 25, 1943, a riot broke out at the Alabama Dry Dock Shipping Company after 12 African Americans were promoted to “highly powered” positions. Of the 433 wounded, almost 45 percent of them were African-American. The summer of 1943 alone saw major riots in Beaumont, Texas, where shipyard workers attacked the black community after the rumors of a white woman being raped; there was also a huge riot in Harlem, New York where African-Americans attacked property owned by whites after the rumors of the murder of a black solider had been circulated; and other cities like Los Angeles, California, and Mobile, Alabama also saw major violence between ethnicities. 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