Civil Rights and Vietnam War Protests
The Civil rights movement in the United States actively brought calls for black power and against racism to Omaha, while simultaneously youth throughout the city were being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. This led to a series of protests and riots, the repercussions of which are still felt today in some communities.
| Riots and civil unrest related to civil rights and the Vietnam War chronological order | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Issue | Event | |||
| July 4, 1966 | Racial tension | After a 103 degree day, a crowd of African Americans gathered at the intersection of North 24th and Lake Streets in the evening. They responded violently when the Omaha Police Department requested their dispersal. The crowd demolished police cars and roamed the North 24th Street business corridor for hours, throwing firebombs and demolishing storefronts. Millions of dollars of damage was caused to businesses in the Near North Side community. The riot lasted three days. | |||
| August 1, 1966 | Racial tension | Riots erupted after a 19-year-old was shot by a white, off-duty policeman during a burglary. The Omaha World-Herald and local television stations were accused of blaming African Americans for the conditions they faced in their deteriorating neighborhoods. Three buildings were firebombed, and 180 riot police were required to quell the crowds. | |||
| March 4, 1968 | Racial tension | A crowd of high school and university students were gathered at the Omaha Civic Auditorium to protest the presidential campaign of George Wallace, the segregationist governor of Alabama. After counter-protesters began acting violently toward the youths, police brutality led to the injury of dozens of protesters. An African-American youth was shot and killed by a police officer during the melee, and fleeing students caused thousands of dollars of damage to businesses and cars. The following day a local barber named Ernie Chambers helped calm a disturbance and prevent a riot by students at Horace Mann Junior High School. Chambers was already recognized as a community leader. After finishing his law degree, Chambers was elected to the Nebraska State Legislature, and served a total of 38 years, longer than any of his predecessors. | |||
| June 24, 1969 | Racial tension | An African-American teenager named Vivian Strong was shot and killed by police officers in an incident at the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects. Young African Americans, led by a group called the Black Association for Nationalism Through Unity (BANTU), rioted throughout the Near North Side neighborhood in response to the teenager's death, with looting along the North 24th Street business corridor. During this initial surge eight businesses were destroyed by firebombing or looting. Events went on for several more days. This is the last noted riot in Omaha. | |||
| July 10, 1971 | Anti-war | The city was on alert after four days and nights of anti-Vietnam War protests at Memorial Park. Thousands of youth activists were involved. | |||
Read more about this topic: List Of Riots And Civil Unrest In Omaha, Nebraska, 20th Century
Famous quotes containing the words civil rights, civil, rights, vietnam and/or war:
“... as a result of generations of betrayal, it’s nearly impossible for Southern Negroes to trust a Southern white. No matter what he does or what he suffers, a white liberal is never established beyond suspicion in the hearts of the minority.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 2, ch. 10 (1962)
“They have been waiting for us in a foetor
Of vegetable sweat since civil war days,
Since the gravel-crunching, interminable departure
Of the expropriated mycologist.”
—Derek Mahon (b. 1941)
“We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable; that all men are created equal and independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“I told them I’m not going to let Vietnam go the way of China. I told them to go back and tell those generals in Saigon that Lyndon Johnson intends to stand by our word, but by God, I want something for my money. I want ‘em to get off their butts and get out in those jungles and whip hell out of some Communists. And then I want ‘em to leave me alone, because I’ve got some bigger things to do right here at home.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“The peace conference must not adjourn without the establishment of some ordered system of international government, backed by power enough to give authority to its decrees. ... Unless a league something like this results at our peace conference, we shall merely drop back into armed hostility and international anarchy. The war will have been fought in vain ...”
—Virginia Crocheron Gildersleeve (1877–1965)