Newark Remembers 1967 Uprising: ‘Not A Riot, A Rebellion’

NEWARK, NJ — The memory of the 1967 race riots in Newark – which many are now calling a “rebellion” – still brings fire to the hearts of many people in New Jersey's largest city. And on the 54th anniversary of those fateful days, they made their voices heard throughout the Brick City.

On Monday, activists and officials turned out in the streets to commemorate the progress that's been made in Newark over the past half-century, as well as the battles still to come. And in doing so, they hope to rewrite the narrative that's surrounded some of the most infamous days in Newark's history.

Here’s how city officials describe what led to the events of 1967:

“The Rebellion was fueled by racial disparities in policing and arrests, unequal access to resources and opportunities, and civic disenfranchisement. On the evening of July 12, 1967, John Smith, a black cab driver, was dragged out of his car and brutally beaten by police. His attackers then arrested him on charges of assault. News spread and Newark residents rose up. The uprising and police violence lasted for six days, resulting in 26 deaths and thousands of injuries and arrests – overwhelmingly affecting Black residents.”

Local community activists – many of whom lived through the violence – said it caused a shockwave that still echoes to this day.

On Monday, People’s Organization for Progress (POP), which led a massive protest in the name of George Floyd last year, spearheaded a rally to mark the anniversary of the “epic uprising,” which included family members of those who lost their lives.

Organizers wrote:

“On July 12, 1967, the brutal near fatal police beating of an African American cabdriver named John Smith triggered one of the most important urban uprisings in the modern era. It would ignite over 100 uprisings around the country including the largest uprising in Detroit on July 25. It would continue on until July 17 when occupying federal and state military forces finally withdrew from the beleaguered city. Although the historic uprising would take 26 lives, it would also ignite a wave of protest and organizing that would forever change the political landscape in segregated American cities, leading to the elections of a new generation of Black elected officials in largely Black communities by the full use and mobilization of a new access to the ballot and more. In Newark, that would mean electing Ken Gibson the first Black mayor of a major eastern seaboard city, and displacing urban gangster apartheid that brutally chained local politics prior to that groundbreaking election in 1970.”

Newark would soon become one of the epicenters of the new national Black Power Movement, partly due to the efforts of the late activist and poet Amiri Baraka – the father of current mayor Ras Baraka. But the struggle for justice still endures to this day, activists pointed out.

“The 1967 Newark uprising was sparked by a police brutality incident,” said Lawrence Hamm, POP chair and former U.S. Senate candidate.

“At that time, people in the city demanded a police review board with subpoena powers,” Hamm continued. “Fifty-four years later, we’re still demanding the same thing.”

• See related article: Newark Tries To Bring Battle Over Policing To US Supreme Court
• See related article: NJ Bill Could Restore Subpoena Power For Newark Policing Board

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GOODBYE POLICE PRECINCT, HELLO MUSEUM

Despite the lingering frustration, there’s hope that things are turning around when it comes to race relations in Newark, some say. And that includes the city’s soon-to-come “community museum,” which will be located where it all began: Newark’s 1st Police Precinct.

According to city officials, the precinct building on 17th Avenue will be closed by Dec. 31. In its place, a museum paying homage to the “struggle for justice” will rise, chronicling local activism and positive police changes.

The new building will also serve as home base for the city’s Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, a place where residents can find “education, advocacy, community healing, social impact and interventions,” said Lakeesha Eure, the agency’s director.

It's expected to open by 2022, officials say.

• See related article: Newark Will Take $12M From Police, Reinvest In Social Services

Mayor Baraka said the “reimagining” of the precinct building will remind residents of the city’s history, while also building a future where violence is seen as a public health problem – not solely a policing issue.

“There’s a negative history in that building,” Baraka said. “We are going to set it on a course of positivity.”

• See related article: New Museum Chronicling Activism, Police Changes Coming To Newark

‘EMPOWERMENT AND RESISTANCE’

In the decades since the violence of 1967, many people have used a word to describe those fateful six days which activists are trying hard to change: “riot.”

“What began in the city 54 years ago wasn’t a riot – it was the Newark Rebellion,” tweeted Ryan Haygood, president of the Newark-based New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

Haygood said there are other phrases that community members should use instead of “riot.” They include:

• “A predictable insurrection”
• “A collective response to brutality, racism and oppression”
• “An act of empowerment and resistance”
• “A fight for liberation that continues”

Others shared Haygood's sentiments. Seen online:

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