1960S Essay Research Paper The 1960 — страница 2

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blame it on the heat wave that was hitting Los Angels and others blame it on the irritation of the urban blacks because of their isolation and poverty. By the end of 1966 the federal government was getting fed up with the lack of obedience by some school districts in the deep south that were refusing to desegregate schools. They decided to take action and cut off all federal funding to six more districts bringing the total to 37 southern schools without funding. Though losing funding many schools were still segregating students. In Louisiana only 1 in 28 black students attended school with whites, 1 in 31 in Mississippi, and only 1 in 42 in Alabama. The Los Angeles ghetto of Watts plunged into anarchy in 1965 after a black man named Marquette Frye was arrested for drunk driving.

After six days of rioting ended a total of 35 were dead, 900 were injured, and there was millions of dollars worth of property damage. A Cleveland ghetto broke into rioting after a white bartender denied a glass of ice water to a black man. In Newark, New Jersey some of the most violent race riots broke out after a black cab driver was killed by white policemen. At the end of the week there were 21 dead, over 1,000 injured, and at least 1,600 arrested. Property damage was once again in the high millions. By 1967 forty five were dead and property damage was up to almost one billion dollars. During the summer of 1967 riots intensified in Detroit. By the end of one week 41 were dead, 350 injured, 3,800 arrested, 5,000 homeless (mostly blacks), 1,300 buildings completely destroyed,

and 2,700 businesses ransacked. Property damage reached an astonishing $500 million dollars. Upon a brisk spring night in Memphis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on a second story balcony discussing the next week’s march on Washington with his colleagues. Suddenly a single shot broke the silence of the night air. King’s co-workers thought it was some kind of bad joke until they saw him lying on the ground in a pool of blood with a bullet hole torn through his neck. In response to the shot, some thirty Memphis police converged on the building. Somehow, possibly on purpose, all thirty policemen missed the shooter. The weapon used to kill King was a scope- sighted 30.06 cal. Remington pump rifle. The range from which the shot was taken was a short 205 feet. After King’s

murder, rioting took place in scores of cities around the country.