Читать книгу Freedom Facts and Firsts - Jessie Carney Smith - Страница 58

The racial and economic situation in this community for African Americans was bleak in 1963, with widespread poverty, discrimination, segregation, and high unemployment levels experienced by blacks, who made up a third of the city’s 11,000 residents. In January of that year, college students from Baltimore and New York City began sit-ins and other protest activities. Local resident and Howard University graduate Gloria Richardson emerged as a leader, promoting black pride and taking a more militant stance than most established civil rights organizations did in addressing community issues and concerns. As boycotts, picketing, and marches continued, their efforts were met with strong opposition from angry whites and the local police. Demonstrations turned violent as some protesters chose to retaliate when attacked, instead of shielding themselves only and “turning the other cheek” in the manner of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and other civil rights leaders who advocated non-violent resistance. Numerous arrests were made, and on June 11 rioting broke out, with destruction of white-owned stores and other businesses and shooting of firearms.

Fires destroyed two city blocks, as white firemen refused to enter the area without protection.

A state of martial law was declared, as tensions remained high in black and white communities. After Richardson refused to meet with state officials, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy became a part of efforts to end the violence and address the numerous community problems that led to the outbreak of violence. Kennedy promised that the federal government would intervene to establish desegregated accommodations in public venues, improve public housing, integrate the public school system, and develop a biracial commission to address employment/unemployment issues. Troops remained in the Cambridge area until May 1965, but problems in the community resurfaced in July 1967. The National States Rights party and the Ku Klux Klan came to the city to protest school desegregation, and Richardson responded with a radio broadcast denouncing the two racist organizations.

The situation escalated when Hubert Gerold “H. Rap” Brown, a well-known young militant and Black Power advocate, came to Cambridge on July 24, 1967. Brown urged local blacks to “burn this town down” if their demands were not met. He was also widely quoted as saying “It’s time for Cambridge to explode,” as rioting broke out in the black section of the city that evening after a shooting was reported. Fires destroyed two city blocks, as white firemen refused to enter the area without protection from law enforcement officials. Maryland Governor (and future Vice President of the United States) Spiro T. Agnew ordered the state contingent of the National Guard into the city to restore order. Brown was arrested afterwards by Maryland authorities and charged with arson, inciting to riot, and disturbing the peace. The Cambridge incidents marked the shift from nonviolence to more militant civil rights activism.

Fletcher F. Moon