Detroit Riot of 1943

By: Alonford James Robinson

Source:

 Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Second Edition

Detroit Riot of 1943

First large-scale urban riot, in which both African American and white mobs wreaked havoc on a major American city.

Between 1910 and 1930, the African American population of Detroit, Michigan, increased from 5,700 to 120,000. Although de facto segregation in large measure kept blacks and whites separated, racial tensions were building. Those tensions were aggravated by competition for limited jobs, housing, and recreational facilities.

Detroit's segregated municipal beach, Belle Isle, was a popular place for residents to escape the summer heat. On June 20, 1943, a fight broke out between groups of blacks and whites. News of the altercation spread throughout the city, and that night a full-scale riot erupted. The city's police force was ill equipped and unprepared, and thus unable to stop the riot. Federal authorities were reluctant to intervene unless the situation was declared a state of emergency, but several government officials feared that such a declaration would be seen as a sign of weakness to America's wartime enemies.

Late on the night of June 21, military police restored order, but the violence had claimed the lives of 25 African Americans and nine whites. In addition, 675 people were injured in the fighting, and 1,893 were arrested. Although city officials were quick to blame the riot on the African American community's growing militancy, one positive event emerged from the disturbances: Mayor Edward Jeffries formed the Interracial Committee. This committee was the first governmental organization in the nation given the authority to investigate and prosecute racial discrimination.

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