Video Library Beta
ABC video clips sourced for the Australian curriculum in partnership with Education Services Australia
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- Video Clip
- US Race Riots [3:02]
- Network
- ABC Weekend Magazine
- Broadcast
- 14th April 1968
- Summary
- Riots after the death of Martin Luther King, 1968
- Download Clip [8.18 MB]
- Learning Area
- History
- Strand/s
- Historical knowledge and understanding
- Year/s
- 6-12
Keywords
American history, Black Power, Civil rights, Discrimination, Floyd McKissick, Kerner Commission, Lyndon B Johnson, Martin Luther King, Race riots, Racial conflict, Racism
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Description
This clip, from an ABC TV 'Weekend Magazine' special report called 'Flashpoint', was broadcast following widespread rioting in a number of US cities in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in 1968. The story contains footage of the conflict between police and protesters, of African Americans living in impoverished conditions and of post-rioting damage to property. This segment also includes comments from civil rights activist and National Director of the Congress for Racial Equality Floyd McKissick, who gives his views on the reasons behind the protests, along with ideas for social change. The clip is in black and white.
Educational Value
This clip is a seminal resource for historical studies of US race relations and the civil rights and Black Power movements in the late 1960s. It is highly relevant for courses in modern history in years 11 and 12 and useful as background for the year 10 history depth study dealing with rights and freedoms. This depth study requires an examination of the US civil rights movement and its significance for Australia.
The assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr on 4 April 1968 was a significant moment in the history of the civil rights movement. The event triggered civil unrest in at least 110 US cities with full-blown riots in more than 60, including Washington DC, Chicago, Denver and Baltimore. The scenes shown in the clip were probably shot in Baltimore where two weeks of rioting after the assassination left six dead, dozens injured and hundreds of buildings burned and in ruins. The troops seen firing in the clip were either National Guard troops deployed on orders of the Governor of Maryland or regular army troops ordered in by President Johnson.
Floyd McKissick's comments on the Kerner Commission's recommendations are an excellent primary source about Black Power thinking. McKissick criticised the recommendations of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (known as the Kerner Commission) established by President Johnson in July 1967, describing them as 'band-aids'. Rather than piecemeal welfare programs, McKissick called for an 'orderly transfer of power from white people to black people'. In the event, President Johnson rejected the commission's findings and recommendations.
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