July 23, 1967 it was the start of a major realignment of the fortunes for one of America's major cities. Detroit began to burn on this day forty years ago, a police raid on a blind pig (illegal bar) sparked a rage in that city that carried on for five days.
The television pictures of the day provided grim scenes that many found unbelievable for a major American city, but in that hot summer of 67 tempers were flaring across America. Newark, New Jersey likewise had a summer of discontent which saw that city suffer a similar state of affairs to Detroit, where once again a single incident with police led to a collective spasm of anger and violence.
They would be premonitions of troubles to come across America as the sixites drew to a close and the racial disaprity in the US and war in Vietnam became lightning rods for that nation.
There is a wide variety of information on the Detroit riots of 67 and those with the Detroit channels on their cable or satelite systems will no doubt be able to view a fair amount of archival material on a watershed year for the Motor City. Portions of the city of Detroit proper, have never seemed to revive from those tension filled days, as suburban sprawl, middle class and what was once called white flight have changed the dynamic of the city over the years, add on the troubled nature of the automotive industry at times and Detroit still must feel like a city perched on an abyss.
The riots in Detroit had a Canadian element to them as well, during the heat of the most pitched battles, both police and fire units from Windsor went across the Ambassador bridge or through the Detroit tunnel to offer whatever aid that they could. (Something that the always suspicious folks at Homeland Security might like to remember about Canada). The CBC Windsor has provided an interesting look at the impact that the riots across the river had on life in Canada's southern city.
The late sixties signalled a change in America, one which Canadians watched from their living rooms with a mixture of fascination and horror, at what was happening to their neighbours across the line.
Below we'll list a few of the links we've discovered today about what Gordon Lighhtfoot once sang about, that "Black day in July".
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