Newark – A History of Race, Rights, and Riots in America

By Kevin Mumford

2007 – New York University Press

A review

I was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey and consider myself a student of history. So, I was immediately interested in Kevin Mumford’s book on the history of race relations in that city.

Mumford is an Associate Professor of Afro-American history at Iowa University and lived in Newark in 1998. His book is mostly written from the point of view of an academic interested in Newark. He was not someone who participated in the movements he has reported on. While Mumford has uncovered many facts worth considering, my primary problem with his book is that it lacks a class analysis. This would make the history of Newark more understandable. I can begin by saying that in my opinion what Mumford calls the Newark riots of 1967 were rebellions against an oppressive political economic system.

Newark before the rebellions

Kevin Mumford gives a list in his book of those who were arrested during the 1967 Newark rebellions. He shows that most of those arrested were born in the Southern states where Jim Crow segregation was the law. I believe it is useful to look at the background as to why Jim Crow became the law in the states where chattel slavery, at one time, was a fact of life.

350,000 Union soldiers lost their lives in the Civil War. After the war, the federal government took measures to ensure that the power of the former slave owners was compromised. First, the government adopted the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution. This Amendment abolished chattel slavery except in cases where someone is convicted of a crime.

Then, in the year 1868 the government passed the 14^th Amendment that was supposed to guarantee equal protection under the law. If states did not provide for equal protection, it is the job of the federal government to intervene. Then, in 1875 the government passed the Civil Rights Act that expanded on the 14^th Amendment.

By the year 1877 the Republican federal government of President Rutherford B. Hayes made an agreement with racist forces in the South to withdraw the federal troops that had defended the reconstruction governments. These reconstruction governments began to institute democratic reforms in the former slave states. By 1883 the Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act was illegal. This decision, as well as the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson in effect, reversed the 14^th Amendment. The Supreme Court isn’t supposed to have the power to reverse the Constitution, but it did this anyway.

When President Hayes withdrew federal troops from the southern states, he left the progressive reconstruction governments largely defenseless. Racist forces of the Ku Klux Klan and others mobilized to take state power. The result was that Black people lost citizenship rights in this country.

Today in Montgomery, Alabama there is a new memorial to the 4,000 people who were lynched by racist forces in this country. As we have seen, the federal government had an obligation to prosecute those who murdered the victims of lynchings. When the government refused to prosecute these murderers, this same government shared responsibility for all those murders.

This was just one of the many reasons that explain what has been known as the Great Migration of Black people from the states where Jim Crow segregation was the law.

After the Second World War manufacturing in the United States expanded greatly. The United States became the world’s superpower and began to dominate the capitalist world economy.

Working people had been living in impoverished conditions and felt that their participation in the war earned them a better standard of living. So, when the United States government attempted to go to war against the revolutionary Chinese government, the U.S. soldiers refused and organized a “Bring the Troops Home” movement.

When the troops came home, hundreds of thousands began to understand that they needed to carry out another war. This war was a massive strike wave where hundreds of thousands of workers participated. In the course of this strike wave unions began to understand that they needed to support the demands of all workers, including Black workers who were systematically discriminated against.

Then, there was the racist lynching of 14 year-old Emmitt Till in Mississippi. A few months after Till’s murder, Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of a buss in Montgomery, Alabama. This sparked the 385 day Montgomery Bus Boycott.

One of the organizers of this boycott was E. D. Nixon who was a member of A. Phillip Randolph’s Sleeping Car Porters Union. These events demonstrated that a transition had taken place from the post WWII labor uprisings, to the Civil Rights movement. Both these movements benefitted all working people.

So, when Black workers left the states where Jim Crow was the law, there was a certain expectation that they would have a better life in the Northern or Western parts of the country. Clearly this migration didn’t happen until there was a need for workers in industry. In spite of the union victories, Black people found themselves with some of the worst jobs. However, some Black people were shocked when they looked at  Black people routinely sitting in the front of municipal busses.

The Newark Rebellions

Just as the government refused to prosecute the murderers who lynched Black people, this same government refused to enforce, the idea of equal protection under the law. As a result, Black people experienced systematic discrimination in education, housing, health care, and employment. The most offensive form of discrimination was from routine police brutality.

The rebellion in Newark wasn’t about protesting a single incident.  In January of 1967 business officials issued a report where they argued that Newark’s problems were, “more grave and pressing than those of perhaps any other American city.”  City officials applied for funds under the Model Cities Act using the following argument:

“Newark had the nation’s highest percentage of bad housing, the most crime per 100,000 people, the heaviest tax burden, the highest rates of venereal disease, maternal mortality, and new cases of tuberculosis.  The city was listed as second in infant mortality, second in birth rate, seventh in absolute number of drug addicts.  Its unemployment rate in the Black community was 15%.”

Before the Newark rebellion, there were efforts to confront the most vicious forms of racial discrimination. These protests were primarily organized by the group Congress of Racial Equality. Also Tom Hayden headed a predominantly caucasian group that came to Newark in an effort to assist in that struggle.

In the meantime, events took place that began to change the consciousness of this country. The Civil Rights movement effectively forced the government to adopt the Civil Rights Act as well as the Voting Rights Act. These laws effectively did away with Jim Crow segregation.

We should keep in mind that from a legal standpoint these laws were not necessary to do away with Jim Crow. All the government needed to do was to enforce the 14^th Amendment, but that action would have shown federal collusion with Jim Crow for decades. 

However, while Jim Crow was no more, systematic discrimination continued. Malcolm X understood this and advocated for self-determination for Black people. Malcolm’s ideas began to transform the thinking of this country. He didn’t just think that Blacks were victims, but that they have the potential to engage in a movement that can win true liberation.

So, after the rebellion in the Black community of Los Angeles known as Watts, police officers arrested and brutalized John Smith who was a Newark taxi driver. The fourth district police station where Smith was taken was in the vicinity of the Hayes Homes, that was a housing project where thousands of Black people lived. Residents protested the arrest and beating of Smith and demanded that he be released. This was the beginning of the 1967 rebellion in Newark.

Mayor Hugh Adonizio asked New Jersey Governor Richard Hughes to send the National Guard to suppress the popular insurrection that was erupting in Newark. Governor Hughes toured Newark on Friday morning July 15 after these events.  He called the uprising, “An obvious open rebellion.”  This description by Hughes differed from descriptions by Kevin Mumford, the press, and the history books that have routinely called the Newark rebellions “riots.”  Hughes was open about his hatred for the tax-paying residents of Newark with his statement:

“The line between the jungle and the law might as well be drawn here as any place in America.”

A Committee of Concern that included the Episcopal Bishop, deans of Rutgers Newark campus as well as their law school, and the vice-presidents of Prudential Insurance Company disagreed with Governor Hughes statement.  They issued a statement arguing that a major cause of the rebellion was a belief held in the Black community that the police are, “the single continuously lawless element operating in the community.”

Tom Hayden underscored this sentiment in his statement showing how the rebellion had a unified support in the Black community.

“Fathers and mothers in the ghetto often complain that even they cannot understand the wildness of their kids.  Knowing that America denies opportunity to black young men, black parents still share with whites the sense that youth is heading in a radically new, incomprehensible, and frightening direction.  Refusal to obey authority—that of the parents, teachers and other adult ‘supervisors’—is a common charge against youngsters.  Yet when the riot broke out, the generations came together.  The parents understood and approved the defiance of their sons that night.”

In all, between July 12 and 17, twenty-four African Americans and two caucasians died in the rebellions. More than 1,100 sustained injuries; approximately 1,400 were arrested.

In the former tsarist Russia, Jewish people used the word pogrom to describe murderous raids by racist vigilantes into their communities. One of the definitions of the word pogrom is: A massacre or persecution instigated by the government or by the ruling class against a minority group, particularly Jews.     

Given the facts of what happened during the Newark rebellions, I believe that Governor Hughes order to send the National Guard into the city was an order to carry out a pogrom.

We might also consider that the United States became a nation as a result of a political revolution.  The Declaration of Independence states clearly that when the people are subjected to a “long train of abuses” it is not only, “their right, but their duty” to throw off their oppressors and establish new guards for their security.

At the Boston Tea Party of 1773, insurgents boarded three ships in Boston Harbor.  It took them three hours to throw 342 chests of tea overboard.

The so-called “looting” of white owned stores was partly about the routine cheating these storeowners practiced in the Black community.  Well-dressed working people participated in the rebellion and felt entitled to get even for all the money these stores effectively stole from the community.  The insurgents left the Black owned stores alone.

We might also keep in mind that at the same time the government sent the National Guard to Newark, this same government was sending millions of young people to go to war against the people of Vietnam. In all, millions of people died because of this U.S. government’s instigated war. The wars against the people of Vietnam and Newark both took place in order to defend capitalist interests of the most affluent people in the world. 

The political changes and polarization in Newark after the rebellion

Anthony Imperiale

Before the rebellions, protests against racist discrimination came from the organization CORE as well as individuals who put pressure on politicians for change. After the rebellion Kevin Mumford argued that the two main political orientations in the city were headed by Anthony Imperiale and Amiri Baraka. Imperiale organized a supposed self-defense of the Italian community during the rebellions. In reality, this so-called “self-defense” operation was about defending Newark’s North Ward against unarmed victims who had been murdered or injured by the National Guard.

We should keep in mind that there is always a backlash or counter-revolutionary movement after rebellions or revolutions. After the revolution that established the United States, a coalition supporting the interests of slave owners took control of the United States government. After the Civil War and reconstruction, forces loyal to the Ku Klux Klan took control of the state governments in the former slave states.

We might also consider that Imperiale’s actions were a betrayal of Italian working class traditions in this country. The following examples demonstrate that Italians in this country have more in common with the struggles of Black people than in allying with the repressive forces in this country.

In the year 1891, eleven workers of Italian descent were lynched in New Orleans, Louisiana. These Italians had been tried for murder, but the verdicts were either not guilty or inconclusive. After these verdicts, racist mobs lynched eleven Italians. Theodore Roosevelt, who became President of the United States was quoted in support of the lynching.

Italians had been recruited to work on sugar plantations doing work that had been done by African American slave labor. There was a 1999 movie of this lynching titled Vendetta produced by HBO.

Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were two Italian workers who were framed and convicted of murder. Their case won support from around the world. In 1927 they were both executed. In 1977 Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis issued a proclamation about Sacco and Vanzetti that said: “any disgrace should forever be removed from their names.”

Rather than follow in this working class tradition of battling against repressive forces, Imperiale allied himself with these same repressive forces. After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Imperiale waved a rifle in front of his headquarters and criticized Mayor Adonizio for sending a letter of condolences to King’s family.

The author James Baldwin made an insightful comment with respect to this issue. He argued that when immigrants from Europe came to this country, there was a “price of the ticket.” This price was about forgetting the working class traditions they experienced in Europe, and to become “white.” Baldwin argued that the concept of being “white” is nothing more than an expression of power. I don’t believe that all immigrants fit this description, but I do believe that this statement explains one of the reasons for racial discrimination in the United States.

Amiri Baraka

Amiri Baraka was one of the leaders of the Black community in Newark. His idea was to organize Black people to take control of the city in order to make the needed changes. He aided in electing Ken Gibson to Mayor of the city. Gibson was one of the first Black mayors in the history of the United States.

However, Gibson ran for office as a democrat and supported capitalist interests. He actively tried to enlist the support of Anthony Imperiale in his attempt to create unity in the city.

While Baraka clearly supported the interests of Blacks in the city, he didn’t see his organization as a part of the working class of the city. Clearly, in order for working people to advance we need to organize against all forms of discrimination.

Malcolm X, towards the end of his life, understood that there were caucasian people in the world who were genuine revolutionaries. In my opinion, from the evidence I’ve seen, Amiri Baraka was about advancing the interests of Black people against the interests of working class caucasians.

This is different from Ken Gibson’s appeal to Imperiale. Anthony Imperiale not only opposed the interests of Black people, he ultimately allied himself against the interests of working class Italians. A similar course led to the rise and fall of Benito Mussolini, who headed a fascist government in Italy.  A different political course might have had the potential to expose this clear contradiction.

The new segregation

Recently, I viewed a PBS documentary of the town of Montclair, New Jersey. The documentary showed how Montclair had a history of discrimination, but that today the city is largely integrated. However, one Black resident who has lived there for years could not continue to afford the high cost of living and moved out of town. The number of Black residents in the township is declining.

Montclair has every style of international restaurant, museums, and a playhouse. There is a train that connects Montclair to New York City. About 30% of the population of the city works in management, finances, or corporate law.

Montclair is one of several suburban towns that surround Newark where the standard of living is in stark contrast to the city. Looking at this contrast one would think that the suburbs and Newark were a part of a different world and not just a few miles apart.

Newark used to be a commercial center where people from around the area came to the city to do their shopping. Now there are shopping malls that surround the city. This is one reason why the city population has declined from about 450,000 to about 280,000. The first home where I lived in Newark was destroyed to make way for Route 78 that connects the suburban communities to New York City.

One measure city and state officials have used to further drive down the standard of living for working people is to make the property tax rate in New Jersey one of the highest in the nation. We might keep this in mind when we consider the fact that Newark and New Jersey are currently offering the Amazon Corporation about $7 billion in tax incentives. This is in the hope that Amazon will build one of their headquarters in Newark. 

The economy is based on profits, not human needs

When think about all the things that we all need and want, these would include: food, clothing, housing, transportation, communication, education, health care, and exposure to cultural activities such as music, art, dance, theater, the film, and literature. We might also think about the fact that most of the real estate in Manhattan, New York consists of office buildings.

In other words, these office buildings rarely if ever produce the things we all need and want. These buildings house enterprises such as banks, insurance companies, advertising agencies, stock brokerage houses, and corporate law firms. While we do not need the so-called services of these enterprises, we need to pay for all those services whenever we make a purchase. So, while production costs usually go down due to automation and lower labor costs, prices are always going up.

The crisis that led to the wars against the people of Newark as well as the people of Vietnam continue to be with us. Capitalists are routinely driven to cut costs as well as increase sales. This state of affairs has obvious consequences. Sooner or later there are more commodities on the market than there are consumers to purchase those commodities. Then, capitalists simply shut down production and throw people out of work.        

The Cuban Revolution has shown the world that there is another way. Almost immediately after the revolution the new Cuban government organized a literacy drive to ensure that everyone on the island knew how to read. This literacy drive was the foundation for making Cuba the nation in the world that has the highest number of doctors per capita.

In the United States we see advertisements to collect charity for people in the world who don’t have the basic necessities. Cuba, on the other hand, has sent volunteers to provide all kinds of assistance to some of the least affluent places in the world.

       

Conclusion

Most histories of the civil rights movement portray a non-violent protest against Jim Crow segregation. The facts are that after Jim Crow was outlawed, this did little to change the reality for Black people in the northern states.

However, after the rebellions, I believe that capitalists realized that things needed to change. They had no interest in allowing more rebellions in the cities that would cost them a lot of money. So, affirmative action programs took off and Black people suddenly had educational as well as employment opportunities they never had before. However, there was a catch.

While capitalists don’t like to see widespread rebellions, they also do not like to invest money to improve the conditions working people face every day. The labor movement, the civil rights movement, as well as the rebellions did have a clear effect in improving the standard of living in this country.

Capitalists responded to these improved conditions by making massive investments all over the world in factories where workers have salaries of between one and ten dollars per day. This massive shift in capital expenditures has caused an overall decline in the standard of living for working people in this country.

I viewed the effects of the capitalist response to the rebellions every day while I was attending high school. I took a bus that went down Bergen Street and Springfield Avenue where I routinely saw burned out buildings day after day, year after year.

As we have seen, the deterioration in the standard of living most ruthlessly effects the least affluent. While other cities rebuilt destroyed properties after the rebellions, people as well as corporations moved out of the Newark. The housing projects apparently became such an obvious disaster that most of them were destroyed.

However, history has shown us that the working class has a tremendous amount of endurance. We might consider that the past reality was even more horrendous than the conditions we face today. The Cuban people have shown us that working people have the potential to transform the world. My experience has shown that working people inside and outside of Newark also have the potential to make this change.

The capitalist system is driving us to a place where working people will need to respond in a meaningful way to our deteriorating standard of living. Rebellions are precursors of revolutions. Working people have the potential to learn from the rebellions of 1967, and put in place a government that makes it’s top priority to provide for the human needs of everyone.