Newark Before July
By the mid-1960s Newark was among the most troubled large cities in the northeast. Its population had shifted dramatically after the war: white families moved to the suburbs while Black migrants from the South arrived, so that Black residents were by 1967 a majority, often estimated at around half or more of the city’s roughly 400,000 people. Employment in older industries was shrinking, and housing was crowded and often in poor condition. The city also had high rates of unemployment and infant mortality, according to figures cited in the later inquiries, though precise numbers differ between sources.
Political power did not match the demographics. Mayor Hugh Addonizio, who was white, had held office since 1962, and the city council, police force and much of city government were still largely white. A proposal to clear land in the Central Ward for a new medical and dental college campus became a flashpoint, because residents feared the loss of homes with little say in the matter. Charges of corruption in city government added to the distrust.
The Arrest of John Smith
On the evening of 12 July 1967, police stopped a Black taxi driver, John Smith, for a traffic violation and took him to the Fourth Precinct station. Witnesses reported seeing him being dragged into the building, and word spread that he had been badly beaten or even killed. Smith was in fact alive, though he was injured. A crowd, including civil rights activists, gathered outside the station that night. Bottles and rocks were thrown, and police moved against the crowd. Looting began in nearby streets.
Six Days
The disorder continued for roughly six days, from 12 to 17 July. On 14 July Governor Richard Hughes sent in New Jersey State Police and National Guard units to supplement the city police, who could not control the situation alone. Looting and arson spread through the Central Ward, and gunfire became frequent. Authorities said they were under sniper fire; later reviews found that many of the reports were exaggerated or mistaken, and that much of the shooting came from the forces themselves, who fired heavily at buildings and into crowds.
The harshest criticism of the response concerned the use of force. In the later investigation, several deaths were attributed to shots fired by officers or Guardsmen, including cases where those killed appeared to be unarmed. Among the dead were a police detective and a firefighter. A number of the civilians killed were women and children.
The unrest ended after several days of heavy deployment. A small group of Black community leaders, as well as clergy and some city officials, appealed for calm, and the weather and exhaustion probably also played a part.
The Toll
The commonly cited figures are 26 people dead, about 700 injured and roughly 1,500 arrested. Most of the dead were Black residents. Property losses were large, and the damage was concentrated in the Central Ward’s commercial streets, with many businesses burned or looted. As elsewhere, estimates of the dollar cost vary and are not given here.
Reactions and Interpretation
Officials and observers sorted the event into two competing explanations. Some, including Governor Hughes and Mayor Addonizio, spoke chiefly of criminals and agitators. Others, including many Black leaders, argued that the unrest was a reaction to deep grievances over housing, employment and the behaviour of the police. A state commission appointed by Hughes, the Governor’s Select Commission on Civil Disorder, reported in early 1968 and described conditions of deprivation, and it was strongly critical of the policing during the disorder.
Newark was one of several cities that summer, and the mood across the country was tense. Just days later, Detroit erupted on a larger scale, as explained in the article on the Detroit uprising. President Lyndon Johnson then appointed the Kerner Commission to examine the causes of the disorders nationwide, and its findings drew on both cities.
The Longer Consequences
Newark’s political landscape shifted over the following years. In 1970 Kenneth Gibson was elected mayor, becoming the first Black mayor of a major northeastern city, while Addonizio was convicted of extortion in a separate case that year. Many residents and businesses continued to leave, and the city struggled with population loss and economic decline for decades. A national Black Power conference held in Newark later in July 1967 and the activism of figures such as the poet and playwright Amiri Baraka were part of a broader movement toward Black political organisation, a trend which also fed into the argument around Black Power.
The memory of 1967 remains contested in Newark. Many residents prefer the word rebellion, and the events are marked by commemorations and local history projects. What is clear is that the disorder drew attention to problems of urban inequality at the very moment when the national civil rights movement was trying to move beyond its legal victories in the South.