The 1967 riots in Grand Rapids were a response to police violence, poverty, poor housing and other systems of oppression

July 25th – 27th will mark the 56 anniversary of the riots in Grand Rapids. I know that GRIID has posted about the 67 riots on previous occasions, but it vitally important that we never forget what happened, nor the larger socio-economic context in which the riots took place in this city.

Last year GRIID posted a 5 part series on the 1967 riots, which is covered in my book, A People’s History of Grand Rapids. In today’s post we provide a summary of the 5 part series, with links to the entire article. 

Remembering the 1967 Riot in Grand Rapids: What is past is present – Part I. In the first part in the series we discuss what sparked the riot, along with how the Grand Rapids Press reported on it. 

Remembering the 1967 Riot in Grand Rapids: What is past is present – Part II. In Part II, we look at how the local TV news reported on the riots and how Mayor and the Grand Rapids Police Chief framed the riots.

Remembering the 1967 Riot in Grand Rapids: What is past is present – Part III. In Part III, we showed several photos that were taken during the riots, photos that some media scholars would refer to as the “white gaze,” since the images were all taken by white people and were primarily consumed by white people.

Remembering the 1967 Riot in Grand Rapids: What is past is present – Part IV. In Part IV, we look at the arrest data during those three days of rioting in Grand Rapids (see map on right), along with a report that was produced months later by a City appointed committee. The report was called Anatomy of a Riot.

Remembering the 1967 Riot in Grand Rapids: What is past is present – Part V. In the last part in the series, we look at a series of articles posted on MLive for the 50th anniversary of the riot in Grand Rapids, plus we challenge the claims about how Grand Rapids is doing so much better now to address racial inequities.

Lastly, we provide some comparisons to the 2020 riot/uprising and how the same dynamics exit now that existed in 1967 – police abuse, poor housing, low paying jobs, a lack of investment in Black neighborhoods and the structural racism that exists in this city.