Remembering The 1967 Detroit Riots

The spark was a police raid on an after-hours club on Detroit’s 12th Street, early Sunday morning on July 23, 1967. What we now call the 1967 Detroit riots quickly escalated into looting, arson and sniper battles. After five days of violence, federal troops helped restore order to the city. The toll: 43 dead, hundreds injured, thousands arrested, more than 2,500 stores looted or burned, and 1,000 families homeless. Plus, a national reputation for racial tension that lingers today.

Were you alive during the summer of 1967? Do remember when you learned that there was rioting in Detroit? Please share your memories here. Comments will be published online in a future special report on the 1967 riots, and also may be published in our newspaper.