Ghetto riots (1964–1969)

The term ghetto riots, also termed ghetto rebellions, race riots, or negro riots refers to a period of widespread urban unrest and riots across the United States in the mid-to-late 1960s, largely fueled by racial tensions and frustrations with ongoing discrimination, even after the passage of major Civil Rights legislation; highlighting the issues of racial inequality in Northern cities that were often overlooked in the earlier focus on the Southern states. Rioters often acted collectively, destroying property they viewed as being owned by those exploiting them, while intervening police officers were often viewed by participants as agents of a racist system

The six days of unrest during the Harlem riot of 1964 is typically viewed as the first of the riots, which were all uncoordinated with each other, unplanned, and most often in cities during the summer months. The pattern caused over 150 separate incidents of violence and unrest over the "long, hot summer of 1967" (the most destructive riots taking place in Detroit and Newark), came to a climax during the national wave of King assassination riots in over 100 American cities in 1968, and relented in 1969.