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Most of 14th Street Is Gone - The Washington, DC Riots of 1968 (Hardcover)
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Most of 14th Street Is Gone - The Washington, DC Riots of 1968 (Hardcover)
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"Left behind were hundreds of burned-out buildings, whole blocks
that looked as though they had been bombed into oblivion." These
words, written by the Washington Post's Leonard Downie Jr., do not
describe a war zone but rather the nation's capital reeling in the
wake of the riots of April 1968. In the devastating aftermath of
Martin Luther King's assassination, a community already exasperated
by poor living conditions, unfair policing, and segregation broke
into chaos. These riots brought well-documented tragedy and
heartbreak - not only among the families of those who lost their
lives but also among those who lost their homes, possessions, jobs,
and businesses. There was anger, fear, and anxiety throughout the
city of Washington, from the White House to the residential
neighborhoods of the capital. There was an excruciating dilemma for
President Lyndon Johnson. He was outraged by the violence in the
streets, but he also keenly aware that African American citizens
who joined the riots had legitimate grievances that his civil
rights initiatives did little to address. J. Samuel Walker's Most
of 14th Street is Gone takes an in-depth look at the causes and
consequences of the Washington riots of 1968. It shows the
conditions that existed in Washington's low-income neighborhoods,
setting the stage for the disorders that began after King's murder.
It also traces the growing fears produced by the outbreaks of
serious riots in many cities during the mid-1960s. The centerpiece
of the book is a detailed account of the riots that raged in
Washington from the perspectives of rioters, victims, law
enforcement officials, soldiers, and government leaders. The
destruction was so extensive that parts of the city were described
as "smoldering ruins block after block." Walker analyzes the
reasons for the riots and the lessons that authorities drew from
them. He also provides an overview of the struggle that the city of
Washington faced in recovering from the effects of the 1968
disorders. Finally, he considers why serious riots have been so
rare in Washington and other cities since 1968. Walker's timely and
sensitive examination of a community, a city, and a country rocked
by racial tension, violence, and frustration speaks not only to
this nation's past but to its present.
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