[Music]
prejudice has never been uglier welcome
to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
worst race riots in US history
before we begin we publish new videos
every day so be sure to subscribe for
more great content for this list we’re
looking at the violent skirmishes across
American history that were fueled by
racial discrimination number 10 the
Baltimore protests this backlash towards
police was caused by the death of
African American Freddie gray who was
arrested for possession of a switchblade
the events surrounding the arrest are
widely debated with some claiming police
folded him in half and beat him with
batons and that he had to be dragged
into the van while officers claimed he
could walk without assistance what we do
know for sure is that gray who was in
good health at the time of arrest
suffered severe spinal injuries from
police fell into a coma and died a week
later the inconsistencies in the police
officers story only added fuel to the
fire
leading to civil unrest that resulted in
mass property damage and over 200
arrests number 9 the Cincinnati riots
the city had already been on edge
following prior allegations of police
brutality and racial profiling and the
death of African American teen Timothy
Thomas is said to be the straw that
broke the camel’s back the shooting took
place during an arrest attempt as Thomas
was wanted for various non violent
misdemeanors and traffic violations
trying to evade police
Thomas rounded a corner and surprised an
officer who shot him in the chest at
point-blank range following his death
the city erupted into four nights of
rioting which included looting vandalism
and objects being thrown at officers in
protest an imposed curfew prevented
further unrest but by that point the
damage had been done number 8 the Newark
riots racism was alive and thriving in
New Jersey during the 60s creating a
melting pot that was bound to reach a
boiling point eventually
african-americans were left feeling
disenfranchised and discriminated
against
police brutality profiling restricted
access to education and opportunities
not to mention lack of political
representation created a climate of
unrest the catalyst for the ensuing riot
came when cab driver John William Smith
was arrested and beaten without cause
and a rumor circulated that he’d been
killed while in police custody this was
later proven to be false but that did
little to stop the rioting hundreds were
injured and twenty-six individuals
ultimately lost their lives number seven
the ferguson unrest when we think of
modern conflicts fueled by a racial
divide none is more shocking or tragic
than what occurred in Ferguson Missouri
after allegedly robbing a convenience
store Michael Brown who was unarmed was
shot multiple times by an officer his
death took the country by storm sparking
conversations concerning the police
forces relationship with the
african-american community as the
debates became more heated
misinformation spread that Brown had his
hands up in surrender during the
shooting and confrontations quickly
escalated in Ferguson mass riots broke
out which the police responded to with
rapid militarization and force number
six the red summer the red summer refers
to a number of riots that occurred
across the country in the summer of 1919
with areas like Washington DC and
Arkansas suffering the most casualties
while there were a few notable
exceptions of communities fighting back
namely in Chicago these riots were
primarily caused by prejudiced white men
hunting down African Americans the scale
of these killings was huge among the
black community with African American
fatalities nearing the 250 man mark and
Elaine Arkansas alone versus the five
Caucasian men who died in the same rural
conflict number five the Watts Riots on
August 11 to 1965 Marquette Frye was
pulled over by officers and arrested for
drunk driving fried brother and
passenger brought their mother to speak
with officials but that’s when
everything went downhill allegedly she
was pushed and Frye was hit and things
quickly spiraled out of control
as angry mobs began forming on scene
it’s considered to be the second worst
case of race riots that Los Angeles has
ever seen with watts becoming something
of a battleground the chaos lasted
around six days with 34 people losing
their lives and several thousand getting
injured the intervention of the National
Guard managed to eventually end it but
property damage had already devastated
the neighborhood number for the Detroit
race riot
while the riot that took place in 1967
was just as atrocious the incidents that
occurred 20 years prior represented the
worst of racial violence an altercation
that started between teenagers it
eventually led to hundreds of
african-americans clashing with
Caucasians and white sailors this turned
out to only be the start as false gossip
spread about white men throwing a black
mother and child into the Detroit River
while rumors that a black man murdered
and raped a white woman stirred the
crowd even further white mobs were
mobilized and predominantly African
American neighborhoods were attacked
white policemen are also said to have
gotten involved with the murders with 24
of the 34 men killed by police being
african-american number three the King
assassination riots they’ve named dr.
Martin Luther King the apostle of
non-violence in the civil rights
movement has been shot to death in
Memphis Tennessee Martin Luther King jr.
was a symbol of justice progress and
equality so which should come as no
surprise that his death since shockwaves
throughout the country and caused
outrage in the black community
I’m tired him taken our leader
I know you are too with the states
already caught in the middle of so much
civil unrest Martin Luther King’s
assassination was the spark that led
millions to riot across America in over
100 cities with major locations like
Chicago and Washington DC getting
involved property damage was monumental
thousands of soldiers had to be deployed
to bring back order and the amount of
looting and injuries caused in the
fallout was heavy number two the New
York City draft riots known to many at
the time as draft week the mass
conscription of working-class citizens
from lower Manhattan for the ongoing
civil war pushed people to the breaking
point
riots broke out against the draft as it
disproportionately targeted the poor
since they couldn’t pay the $300
commutation fee to avoid being enlisted
for the war but it quickly turned into a
race riot when white Irish immigrants
began attacking black men as they
couldn’t register for the draft since
they weren’t considered citizens and
were often their only competition when
looking for low-income work by the time
draft week came to an end it’s estimated
that 120 people had been killed
number one the Los Angeles Riots with 63
deaths over 2,000 injuries 12,000
arrests and a billion dollars in damage
the City of Angels won’t soon be
forgetting this bloody mark on its
history often referred to as the Rodney
King riots this riot happened when an
african-american taxi driver was beaten
viciously by police following a car
chase the officers were put on trial and
despite the 12 minute long tape showing
them beating King each time he tried to
stand and using criminally excessive
force not to mention the LAPD’s history
of racial profiling and bias they were
acquitted pandemonium erupted throughout
LA and the National Guard Marines and
other military units needed to be called
in to prevent further casualties and
damage do you agree with our picks check
out these other great clips from
WatchMojo and subscribe for new videos
every day
[Music]
prejudice has never been uglier welcome
to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
worst race riots in US history
before we begin we publish new videos
every day so be sure to subscribe for
more great content for this list we’re
looking at the violent skirmishes across
American history that were fueled by
racial discrimination number 10 the
Baltimore protests this backlash towards
police was caused by the death of
African American Freddie gray who was
arrested for possession of a switchblade
the events surrounding the arrest are
widely debated with some claiming police
folded him in half and beat him with
batons and that he had to be dragged
into the van while officers claimed he
could walk without assistance what we do
know for sure is that gray who was in
good health at the time of arrest
suffered severe spinal injuries from
police fell into a coma and died a week
later the inconsistencies in the police
officers story only added fuel to the
fire
leading to civil unrest that resulted in
mass property damage and over 200
arrests number 9 the Cincinnati riots
the city had already been on edge
following prior allegations of police
brutality and racial profiling and the
death of African American teen Timothy
Thomas is said to be the straw that
broke the camel’s back the shooting took
place during an arrest attempt as Thomas
was wanted for various non violent
misdemeanors and traffic violations
trying to evade police
Thomas rounded a corner and surprised an
officer who shot him in the chest at
point-blank range following his death
the city erupted into four nights of
rioting which included looting vandalism
and objects being thrown at officers in
protest an imposed curfew prevented
further unrest but by that point the
damage had been done number 8 the Newark
riots racism was alive and thriving in
New Jersey during the 60s creating a
melting pot that was bound to reach a
boiling point eventually
african-americans were left feeling
disenfranchised and discriminated
against
police brutality profiling restricted
access to education and opportunities
not to mention lack of political
representation created a climate of
unrest the catalyst for the ensuing riot
came when cab driver John William Smith
was arrested and beaten without cause
and a rumor circulated that he’d been
killed while in police custody this was
later proven to be false but that did
little to stop the rioting hundreds were
injured and twenty-six individuals
ultimately lost their lives number seven
the ferguson unrest when we think of
modern conflicts fueled by a racial
divide none is more shocking or tragic
than what occurred in Ferguson Missouri
after allegedly robbing a convenience
store Michael Brown who was unarmed was
shot multiple times by an officer his
death took the country by storm sparking
conversations concerning the police
forces relationship with the
african-american community as the
debates became more heated
misinformation spread that Brown had his
hands up in surrender during the
shooting and confrontations quickly
escalated in Ferguson mass riots broke
out which the police responded to with
rapid militarization and force number
six the red summer the red summer refers
to a number of riots that occurred
across the country in the summer of 1919
with areas like Washington DC and
Arkansas suffering the most casualties
while there were a few notable
exceptions of communities fighting back
namely in Chicago these riots were
primarily caused by prejudiced white men
hunting down African Americans the scale
of these killings was huge among the
black community with African American
fatalities nearing the 250 man mark and
Elaine Arkansas alone versus the five
Caucasian men who died in the same rural
conflict number five the Watts Riots on
August 11 to 1965 Marquette Frye was
pulled over by officers and arrested for
drunk driving fried brother and
passenger brought their mother to speak
with officials but that’s when
everything went downhill allegedly she
was pushed and Frye was hit and things
quickly spiraled out of control
as angry mobs began forming on scene
it’s considered to be the second worst
case of race riots that Los Angeles has
ever seen with watts becoming something
of a battleground the chaos lasted
around six days with 34 people losing
their lives and several thousand getting
injured the intervention of the National
Guard managed to eventually end it but
property damage had already devastated
the neighborhood number for the Detroit
race riot
while the riot that took place in 1967
was just as atrocious the incidents that
occurred 20 years prior represented the
worst of racial violence an altercation
that started between teenagers it
eventually led to hundreds of
african-americans clashing with
Caucasians and white sailors this turned
out to only be the start as false gossip
spread about white men throwing a black
mother and child into the Detroit River
while rumors that a black man murdered
and raped a white woman stirred the
crowd even further white mobs were
mobilized and predominantly African
American neighborhoods were attacked
white policemen are also said to have
gotten involved with the murders with 24
of the 34 men killed by police being
african-american number three the King
assassination riots they’ve named dr.
Martin Luther King the apostle of
non-violence in the civil rights
movement has been shot to death in
Memphis Tennessee Martin Luther King jr.
was a symbol of justice progress and
equality so which should come as no
surprise that his death since shockwaves
throughout the country and caused
outrage in the black community
I’m tired him taken our leader
I know you are too with the states
already caught in the middle of so much
civil unrest Martin Luther King’s
assassination was the spark that led
millions to riot across America in over
100 cities with major locations like
Chicago and Washington DC getting
involved property damage was monumental
thousands of soldiers had to be deployed
to bring back order and the amount of
looting and injuries caused in the
fallout was heavy number two the New
York City draft riots known to many at
the time as draft week the mass
conscription of working-class citizens
from lower Manhattan for the ongoing
civil war pushed people to the breaking
point
riots broke out against the draft as it
disproportionately targeted the poor
since they couldn’t pay the $300
commutation fee to avoid being enlisted
for the war but it quickly turned into a
race riot when white Irish immigrants
began attacking black men as they
couldn’t register for the draft since
they weren’t considered citizens and
were often their only competition when
looking for low-income work by the time
draft week came to an end it’s estimated
that 120 people had been killed
number one the Los Angeles Riots with 63
deaths over 2,000 injuries 12,000
arrests and a billion dollars in damage
the City of Angels won’t soon be
forgetting this bloody mark on its
history often referred to as the Rodney
King riots this riot happened when an
african-american taxi driver was beaten
viciously by police following a car
chase the officers were put on trial and
despite the 12 minute long tape showing
them beating King each time he tried to
stand and using criminally excessive
force not to mention the LAPD’s history
of racial profiling and bias they were
acquitted pandemonium erupted throughout
LA and the National Guard Marines and
other military units needed to be called
in to prevent further casualties and
damage do you agree with our picks check
out these other great clips from
WatchMojo and subscribe for new videos
every day
[Music]
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