Background
Plainfield is located about 18 miles south west of Newark and in 1967 it had a population of 48,000, of which about a third were African American.
Two days before the Plainfield riots began, the Newark rioting had broken out, It continued as of July 14, 1967. Many communities in northern and central New Jersey were on edge, Plainfield included.
On the night of Friday, July 14 a fight broke out at a local diner, The White Star. Afterwards about 40 young black men left the diner and marched back to their housing project in the West End section of Plainfield. They vented their anger along the way by smashing store windows and throwing rocks at police cars. When the local police showed up in force, the group dispersed.
Read more about this topic: 1967 Plainfield Riots
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