The Detroit riot ...

Following the July 1967 riots in Detroit, 496 Negroes who had been arrested and imprisoned were questioned about their economic and employment status, family status, views about the riot and its causes, and rankings of Negro leaders. Negro interviewers conducted the survey at the prisons. Despite some stated shortcomings in the data collection process and in the instruments, a profile of these men is presented. The typical prisoner was a single man about 30 years old, protestant but not a regular church-goer, and a nonveteran high school dropout. He was southern born and had lived in Detroit for at least 15 years. A blue collar worker, he earned about $120 per week and had been out of work more than 5 weeks in the past year. The prisoner thought the riots had been caused by"police brutality." He believed that poor housing, lack of job opportunities, and discrimination also had contributed to the conflict. Martin Luther King, Jr. was his favorite leader, and nonviolence was the preferred means for achieving civil rights. In general, the prisoner felt that conditions for himself and other Detroit Negroes had improved recently, and he was hopeful of eventually achieving what whites now have. Tables summarize the data, and an appendix presents a profile of selected characteristics.--ERIC