The Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (1968) argued that the racial turmoil of the 1960’s was caused by deep-seated prejudice and discrimination. Turmoil is defined as: relatively spontaneous,unorganized political violence with substantial popular participation, includingviolent political strikes, riots, political clashes and localized rebellions (Gurr,Why Men Rebel, p. 11). In my opinion, the “turmoil” of the 1960’s went muchdeeper, as evidenced by the immense hatred and violence that erupted duringthe decade of the 1960’s. Most violence tended to be concentrated in the South,however the city of Detroit, Michigan was the site of considerable racialturmoil in 1967. Profile of a Riot: Detroit, 1967 (Eldridge, Images of Conflict, p. 59)Some people called it a disturbance, others a riot, a few even referred toit as a rebellion. During the summer of 1967, the undercurrent of racialdiscrimination that had long separated blacks and whites surfaced in Detroitwith a series of violent racial disorders. The primary causal sequence inpolitical violence is first the development of discontent, second thepoliticization of that discontent and finally its actualization in violent actionagainst political objects and actors (Gurr, Why Men Rebel, p. 13). Politicalviolence in this case, refers to all collective attacks within a politicalcommunity against the political regime, its actors - including competingpolitical groups as well as incumbents - or its policies. It also includes guerrillawars, coup d’etat, rebellions and riots. Political violence is in turn subsumedunder “force” the use of threat of violence by any party or institution to attainends within or outside the political order. Participants in political violence mayvalue it as a means of expressing political demands or opposing undesirablepolicies (Gurr, Why Men Rebel, p. 4).Back to Gurr’s primary causal sequen...
