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Ballots and Bullets: Black Power Politics and Urban Guerrilla Warfare in 1968 Cleveland
On July 23, 1968, police in Cleveland battled with black nationalists.The dramatic shootout in the Glenville neighborhood left ten dead and over fifteen wounded. The event sparked days of heavy rioting and raised myriad questions. Were these shootings an ambush by the nationalists? Or were the nationalists defending themselves from an imminent police assault? Mystery still surrounds how the urban warfare started and the role the FBI might have played in its origin.
Cleveland's story intersected with with some of the most important African American figures of the time. Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X both came to Cleveland, shaping the debate over how to address systemic racism. Should it be with nonviolence or armed self-defense? Malcolm X first delivered his iconic "The Ballot or the Bullet" speech in Cleveland. Three years later, in 1967, Carl Stokes, with King's help, became the first black mayor of a major US city. The ballot seemed to have triumphed over the bullet—and then Dr. King was assassinated. In the spring of 1968, while Mayor Stokes kept peace in Cleveland and Bobby Kennedy came to deliver his "Mindless Menace of Violence" speech, nationalists used an antipoverty program Stokes created in King's honor to buy rifles and ammunition.
Ballots and Bullets examines the revolutionary calls for addressing racism through guerrilla warfare in America's streets. It also puts into perspective the political aftermath, as racial violence and rebellions in most American cities led to white backlash and provided lift to the counterrevolution that brought Richard Nixon to power, effectively marking an end to President Johnson's "War on Poverty."
Fifty years later, many politicians still call for "law and order" to combat urban unrest. The Black Lives Matter movement and continued instances of police misconduct and brutality show that the cycle of race-based violence continues. The root causes—racism and poverty—remain largely unaddressed.
Cleveland's story intersected with with some of the most important African American figures of the time. Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X both came to Cleveland, shaping the debate over how to address systemic racism. Should it be with nonviolence or armed self-defense? Malcolm X first delivered his iconic "The Ballot or the Bullet" speech in Cleveland. Three years later, in 1967, Carl Stokes, with King's help, became the first black mayor of a major US city. The ballot seemed to have triumphed over the bullet—and then Dr. King was assassinated. In the spring of 1968, while Mayor Stokes kept peace in Cleveland and Bobby Kennedy came to deliver his "Mindless Menace of Violence" speech, nationalists used an antipoverty program Stokes created in King's honor to buy rifles and ammunition.
Ballots and Bullets examines the revolutionary calls for addressing racism through guerrilla warfare in America's streets. It also puts into perspective the political aftermath, as racial violence and rebellions in most American cities led to white backlash and provided lift to the counterrevolution that brought Richard Nixon to power, effectively marking an end to President Johnson's "War on Poverty."
Fifty years later, many politicians still call for "law and order" to combat urban unrest. The Black Lives Matter movement and continued instances of police misconduct and brutality show that the cycle of race-based violence continues. The root causes—racism and poverty—remain largely unaddressed.
384 pages, Hardcover
Published July 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 19, 2019
Author James Robenalt is said to have written a history of Black Power politics and its intersection with the 1966 Hough Riots and 1968 Glenville Shootout in Cleveland, Ohio. I found his effort incomplete and wanting.
My biggest problem with the work is how heavily reliant it is on just a few memoirs and autobiographies from those involved in the events Robenalt covers. Robenalt appears to use them uncritically. Many of these were written shortly after the events in question, and were clearly self-serving. Others were written much later, and while they contain more perspective and less self-aggrandizing, they are permeated with more subtle self-justifications.
The book contains very little in the way of research outside Cleveland's more militant African American community. That would be fine, if the book claimed to be only about the views of militant African Americans. Militants were only a portion of the African American community in Cleveland at the time, and Robenalt often misses published sources that contain a different perspective. The author never tries to determine who the black community in Cleveland itself supported, or to what degree or measure. There certainly is no attempt to describe, uncover, or portray the views of whites in Cleveland at the time, particularly the civic and community leaders with whom black militants were interacting, reacting to, and challenging.
I kept finding myself begging Robenalt to tell me more about the mayors, police chiefs, city councilmen, labor leaders, real estate developers, and others who were acting against (and sometimes in support of) black militants. When they show up, it's a deus ex machina interaction, something the comes out of the blue, "just happens", and then disappears again.
That's not good history.
Robenalt really glides over the Hough Riots of 1966, even though those riots were critically important to setting the stage for the Glenville Shootout of 1968. That was shocking to me. It was also shocking to see the author take extraordinary claims at face value, repeatedly so throughout the work. For example, at one point, Robenalt claims a "secret meeting" between Cleveland Mayor Ralph Locher and black militants during the Hough Riots. His source is a somewhat biased memoir by a black militant. Robenalt doesn't try to provide any additional evidence for this stunning claim, even though it is clearly needed. He glosses over the meeting, almost blithely -- giving no hint of who else might have been present, how long it took, where it took place, or what the fullness of the discussion was. Yet, the meeting is the linchpin of Robenalt's claim that Mayor Locher reneged on promises made.
That's only one example of the kind of claim made in the book which cries out for some heavy-duty research. It's the research Robenalt doesn't provide.
Taken at face value, Robenalt's book is an excellent review of the views of the African American militants whose books, articles, and interviews make up his source material. That kind of uncritical view can be highly useful, for such views -- no matter how after-the-fact or biased -- are themselves history, and can be extremely useful in understanding the motivations, feelings, and thoughts of these critical actors.
Robenalt, however, seems to be making the claim that these views are not biased or self-serving, and that they are far more factual and truthful than they really are. And that's my big problem with his work.
Robenalt's prose style is all right, although I found it a bit breathless and light on detail at times. The average reader completely ignorant of these events might find the text full of details, fact, figures, and names that are overwhelming. But this book isn't meant to be popular history; it's meant for readers already well-familiar with the events in question. It's an academic work.
I wish Robenalt as an author had openly questioned his sources a bit more. I get the sense from the text that he's reading other people's works aloud, condensing it, reiterating it. I never find Robenalt questioning if Militant Number One is accurately portraying his own role in events, or pointing out that Rioter Number Seven could never have done what he claims to have done, or that Pastor Number Four may have played a bigger role in negotiations than he says he did. Everything is at face value. Well, geez, if that's the case, I should just go read the primary texts, then. Why read Robenalt?
I give the book three stars. It is fairly comprehensive if not terribly detailed, it glosses over context and larger trends and issues, the prose is decent, and it's good to see these voices given a platform instead of being ignored.
My biggest problem with the work is how heavily reliant it is on just a few memoirs and autobiographies from those involved in the events Robenalt covers. Robenalt appears to use them uncritically. Many of these were written shortly after the events in question, and were clearly self-serving. Others were written much later, and while they contain more perspective and less self-aggrandizing, they are permeated with more subtle self-justifications.
The book contains very little in the way of research outside Cleveland's more militant African American community. That would be fine, if the book claimed to be only about the views of militant African Americans. Militants were only a portion of the African American community in Cleveland at the time, and Robenalt often misses published sources that contain a different perspective. The author never tries to determine who the black community in Cleveland itself supported, or to what degree or measure. There certainly is no attempt to describe, uncover, or portray the views of whites in Cleveland at the time, particularly the civic and community leaders with whom black militants were interacting, reacting to, and challenging.
I kept finding myself begging Robenalt to tell me more about the mayors, police chiefs, city councilmen, labor leaders, real estate developers, and others who were acting against (and sometimes in support of) black militants. When they show up, it's a deus ex machina interaction, something the comes out of the blue, "just happens", and then disappears again.
That's not good history.
Robenalt really glides over the Hough Riots of 1966, even though those riots were critically important to setting the stage for the Glenville Shootout of 1968. That was shocking to me. It was also shocking to see the author take extraordinary claims at face value, repeatedly so throughout the work. For example, at one point, Robenalt claims a "secret meeting" between Cleveland Mayor Ralph Locher and black militants during the Hough Riots. His source is a somewhat biased memoir by a black militant. Robenalt doesn't try to provide any additional evidence for this stunning claim, even though it is clearly needed. He glosses over the meeting, almost blithely -- giving no hint of who else might have been present, how long it took, where it took place, or what the fullness of the discussion was. Yet, the meeting is the linchpin of Robenalt's claim that Mayor Locher reneged on promises made.
That's only one example of the kind of claim made in the book which cries out for some heavy-duty research. It's the research Robenalt doesn't provide.
Taken at face value, Robenalt's book is an excellent review of the views of the African American militants whose books, articles, and interviews make up his source material. That kind of uncritical view can be highly useful, for such views -- no matter how after-the-fact or biased -- are themselves history, and can be extremely useful in understanding the motivations, feelings, and thoughts of these critical actors.
Robenalt, however, seems to be making the claim that these views are not biased or self-serving, and that they are far more factual and truthful than they really are. And that's my big problem with his work.
Robenalt's prose style is all right, although I found it a bit breathless and light on detail at times. The average reader completely ignorant of these events might find the text full of details, fact, figures, and names that are overwhelming. But this book isn't meant to be popular history; it's meant for readers already well-familiar with the events in question. It's an academic work.
I wish Robenalt as an author had openly questioned his sources a bit more. I get the sense from the text that he's reading other people's works aloud, condensing it, reiterating it. I never find Robenalt questioning if Militant Number One is accurately portraying his own role in events, or pointing out that Rioter Number Seven could never have done what he claims to have done, or that Pastor Number Four may have played a bigger role in negotiations than he says he did. Everything is at face value. Well, geez, if that's the case, I should just go read the primary texts, then. Why read Robenalt?
I give the book three stars. It is fairly comprehensive if not terribly detailed, it glosses over context and larger trends and issues, the prose is decent, and it's good to see these voices given a platform instead of being ignored.
July 12, 2020
Very timely read
I was 12 when the Glennville shootout occurred. This book helped me understand better that time in Cleveland and what led up to it. The parallel between the unrest in the 60’s and today are striking. Well worth the read
I was 12 when the Glennville shootout occurred. This book helped me understand better that time in Cleveland and what led up to it. The parallel between the unrest in the 60’s and today are striking. Well worth the read
April 29, 2019
This book is really dense, and it's a bit hard to decipher it's organization/path, which makes it hard to absorb everything. For the first half of the book I didn't really know what to internalize, even though I have a good grasp of the arc of this historical narrative. (I wish I had seen the "cast of characters" at the end of the book, for reference, earlier.) Random paragraphs are interspersed with coinciding historical events that disrupt the path of the story.
Regardless, it's a crazy story, and even wilder that it didn't even happen that long ago (or far from where I live). I appreciated the author's editorial at the end.
Regardless, it's a crazy story, and even wilder that it didn't even happen that long ago (or far from where I live). I appreciated the author's editorial at the end.
June 30, 2020
Very clear and well written. Definitely a History Book.
I loved the closing chapter & how the author emphasized the relationship between the 1968 violence and the BLM movement of today. I thought the authors push for policy change was very compelling.
I thought that the authors closing argument had additional teeth because he had been so deliberately academic & unbiased in the previous 295 pages.
I loved the closing chapter & how the author emphasized the relationship between the 1968 violence and the BLM movement of today. I thought the authors push for policy change was very compelling.
I thought that the authors closing argument had additional teeth because he had been so deliberately academic & unbiased in the previous 295 pages.
October 24, 2018
This book by Robenalt was a good way to learn about an event that happened when I was just 17 and living in the suburbs of Cleveland. I knew that something happened simply because I worked near the area involved, but I knew little or nothing about it. I was the typical teen, busy with my own life and not interested in watching the news, so now I am trying to make up for my lack of knowledge concerning the city I consider my home, even though I only lived in Cleveland for a few years in the early 70s.
First, I would like to state that the title of the book is somewhat misleading. Much of the book is the build-up to 1968 and includes the visits to Cleveland by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Essentially the meat of the book begins in Cory United Methodist Church in Glenville, one of Cleveland's neighborhoods. In the spring of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at this church about problems in the protests going on in Birmingham, Alabama to promote his use of nonviolence to change the treatment of Blacks in the southern United States and to raise money for the bail and legal defense needed for the protesters in Alabama. King's successful speech raised over $12,000 in one night.
King was aware that he had "competition" in gaining the trust and following of the communities of northern Black Americans from the side that believed that this non-violence would not work in the north. This group led largely by Elijah Muhammad and his Muslim movement was nourished by the frustration of the continuing discrimination of Blacks, a loss of faith in America, and a conclusion that the "white man is an incorrigible 'devil.'" His group, called the Nation of Islam, had a leading spokesperson, Malcolm X, who was considered to be King's main competitor in the civil rights movement's earliest days. In the following spring of 1964, Cory Methodist Church welcomed Malclom X as a speaker. His message "was anything but nonviolent."
The book puts together all the people who would later play a part in the riot that occurred on July 23, 1968. Each person and influence, Cleveland's mayors, the city police force and the FBI, the national leaders of our country, the politicians, those who fought for civil rights and those who blocked the way, are explored in how they came together to fight on opposite sides of the battlefield for many different reasons.
Ballots and Bullets is incredibly detailed and takes a good long time to get to 1968. I found that I needed to understand where events happened and relied on my own research to determine the locations of neighborhoods and streets. Somehow, I grew up thinking that the famous "Hough Riots" and the event in 1968 were one and the same event. I was too young and distant to understand at the time. I remember my pride when Cleveland elected Carl Stokes as mayor - the first Black mayor of a major city in the United States. But other than national names and Mayors Locher and Perk, and other of Cleveland's notables such as Louis Stokes, Stanley Tolliver, and George Forbes, most of the people were unknown to me. Only the final third of the book takes place in 1968. It needs everything else to put together the full cast.
If you are interested in the Civil Rights movement in the 60s, or in Cleveland's history, or the treatment of Black Americans, you would do well to read this book.
First, I would like to state that the title of the book is somewhat misleading. Much of the book is the build-up to 1968 and includes the visits to Cleveland by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Essentially the meat of the book begins in Cory United Methodist Church in Glenville, one of Cleveland's neighborhoods. In the spring of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at this church about problems in the protests going on in Birmingham, Alabama to promote his use of nonviolence to change the treatment of Blacks in the southern United States and to raise money for the bail and legal defense needed for the protesters in Alabama. King's successful speech raised over $12,000 in one night.
King was aware that he had "competition" in gaining the trust and following of the communities of northern Black Americans from the side that believed that this non-violence would not work in the north. This group led largely by Elijah Muhammad and his Muslim movement was nourished by the frustration of the continuing discrimination of Blacks, a loss of faith in America, and a conclusion that the "white man is an incorrigible 'devil.'" His group, called the Nation of Islam, had a leading spokesperson, Malcolm X, who was considered to be King's main competitor in the civil rights movement's earliest days. In the following spring of 1964, Cory Methodist Church welcomed Malclom X as a speaker. His message "was anything but nonviolent."
The book puts together all the people who would later play a part in the riot that occurred on July 23, 1968. Each person and influence, Cleveland's mayors, the city police force and the FBI, the national leaders of our country, the politicians, those who fought for civil rights and those who blocked the way, are explored in how they came together to fight on opposite sides of the battlefield for many different reasons.
Ballots and Bullets is incredibly detailed and takes a good long time to get to 1968. I found that I needed to understand where events happened and relied on my own research to determine the locations of neighborhoods and streets. Somehow, I grew up thinking that the famous "Hough Riots" and the event in 1968 were one and the same event. I was too young and distant to understand at the time. I remember my pride when Cleveland elected Carl Stokes as mayor - the first Black mayor of a major city in the United States. But other than national names and Mayors Locher and Perk, and other of Cleveland's notables such as Louis Stokes, Stanley Tolliver, and George Forbes, most of the people were unknown to me. Only the final third of the book takes place in 1968. It needs everything else to put together the full cast.
If you are interested in the Civil Rights movement in the 60s, or in Cleveland's history, or the treatment of Black Americans, you would do well to read this book.
October 29, 2018
Ballots and Bullets places the 1968 deadly battle between Black Nationalists and the Cleveland Police in the broader context of the national civil rights movement. Robinalt takes the reader back to Cleveland in the 1960s and captures the rise of Black Nationalists in Cleveland. The book is much more than just an analysis of a past historical event, but shows the parallels between that story and the current struggle for human rights. Robinalt ends the book by outlining the steps our country must take to reverse racism and provide for a more just society. The book is timely in Cleveland and for the rest of our nation.
January 26, 2021
Relevant read in light of what's happening in our world right now. He examines the local and national events & riots that led up to Cleveland shootout. Thoroughly enjoyed reading him describe the political aftermath and the ever-present issue of police brutality in black communities and the idea that racism & poverty are often ignored in favor of appeals for "law and order" in the communities instead.
March 16, 2020
Well written, well researched and engaging. A glimpse into a Cleveland i didn’t know about. Not a manual for insurrection but an analysis of the situation in the country that made the ground fertile to sprout into insurrection. May of the same issues faced today.
I appreciated the writing style and took the messages to heart. A recommended read.
I appreciated the writing style and took the messages to heart. A recommended read.
September 11, 2023
Ballots and Bullets
This is a well written and documented account of a tragic episode in Cleveland’s history. I particularly appreciated the contrasting approaches of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. It was hard to get through the terrible events that took place in Glenville. The conclusion was measured and fair. Thank you for this book.
This is a well written and documented account of a tragic episode in Cleveland’s history. I particularly appreciated the contrasting approaches of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. It was hard to get through the terrible events that took place in Glenville. The conclusion was measured and fair. Thank you for this book.
April 12, 2024
A good recounting of the events of the Hough riots and Glenville shootout in the city of Cleveland. Additionally some chapters covered general history of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X and how they influenced the black militant movement. I wish there was more commentary/reflection of the events and not just a retelling from a few perspectives.
January 2, 2025
I learned a lot about a turbulent period in Cleveland's history. Because of this book, I decided to read a book on LBJ and his political career (by Goodwin) and also a work by Moniyhan examining America's melting pot ot lack thereof. The book is quite timely given our current state of affairs. There are so many lessons to be learned about the dangers of politicizing hate.
August 7, 2018
This is an amazingly well-researched work on the events leading up to the shootout between black nationalists and police in Glenville, a Cleveland neighborhood, in the summer of 1968, that seminal year in American history.
January 30, 2022
Wow, a powerful and insightful book on the riots in Cleveland in the 1960's. The paperback edition, published in 2020 has a new afterward. If you don't have time to read the entire book(which I recommend), be sure to read the afterward which is thought provoking.
September 25, 2018
Excellent telling of the events surrounding the Hough Rebellion (Riot) of 1968. Carefully and extensively researched and told with care and compassion for all those involved.
March 15, 2019
A detailed account of the Hough riots and the election of Carl Stokes. Enlightening in how involved Cleveland was in the Civil Rights Movement.
May 10, 2020
As a Clevelander who was a teenager during the Hough Riots, I found this book very illuminating. It was fascinating to learn about the events and key figures behind this local history, which had an impact beyond Ohio's borders.
September 15, 2025
Out of respect for the subject matter and the level of detail that went into researching this book, I have some praise. There are some pretty interesting pieces of Cleveland history within these pages.
However, if I'm being honest, the writing style leaves much to be desired. The book frequently goes on tangents on specific details of dates/times/personal details of people that, frankly, I don't care about. The book also details alot of general non-Cleveland-specific Civil Rights history, which I guess is helpful to folks without any prior reading on the topic. There isn't alot of narrative cohesion, and the book often just felt like it was dumping fact after fact after fact on me.
Definitely learned quite a bit about CLE history, which I absolutely enjoyed, but overall, it was pretty dry.
However, if I'm being honest, the writing style leaves much to be desired. The book frequently goes on tangents on specific details of dates/times/personal details of people that, frankly, I don't care about. The book also details alot of general non-Cleveland-specific Civil Rights history, which I guess is helpful to folks without any prior reading on the topic. There isn't alot of narrative cohesion, and the book often just felt like it was dumping fact after fact after fact on me.
Definitely learned quite a bit about CLE history, which I absolutely enjoyed, but overall, it was pretty dry.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews