1967 Milwaukee riot

1967 Milwaukee riot
Part of Long, hot summer of 1967
Location
Parties
Rioters
Number
  • 4,297 Army National Guard soldiers[1]
Casualties
Death(s)4
Injuries100
Arrested1,740

The 1967 Milwaukee riot was one of 159 race riots that swept cities in the United States during the "Long Hot Summer of 1967". In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, African American residents, outraged by the slow pace in ending housing discrimination and police brutality, began to riot on the evening of July 30, 1967. The inciting incident was a fight between teenagers, which escalated into full-fledged rioting with the arrival of police. Within minutes, arson, looting, and sniping were occurring in the north side of the city, primarily the 3rd Street Corridor.

The city put a round-the-clock curfew into effect on July 31. The governor mobilized the National Guard to quell the disturbance that same day, and order was restored on August 3. Although the damage caused by the riot was not as destructive as in such cities as Detroit and Newark, many businesses in the affected neighborhoods were severely damaged. Tensions increased afterward between police and residents. The July disturbance also served as a catalyst to additional unrest in the city; equal housing marches held in August often turned violent as white residents clashed with black demonstrators.

  1. ^ Hearings Before Special Subcommittee to Inquire Into the Capability of the National Guard to Cope with Civil Disturbances. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1967. p. 5863. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2023-03-18.