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Layered Violence: The Detroit Rioters of 1943
In two turbulent outbursts the city of Detroit has been subjected to civil disorder on a massive scale. The greatest of these occurred in 1967, but prior to this the Detroit Race Riot of 1943 was the most devastating civil disorder in national history. It remains a powerful gauge by which other racial disorders can be measured. Who were the rioters? Why did they riot? In line with George Rude's call for scholars to identify “faces in the crowd,” this valuable study describes and analyzes those individuals who rioted in Detroit during June of 1943 and outlines the causes for the riot.
The authors draw upon never-before-used police records and court files and combine them with equally original archival data to present several profiles of those who filled the streets of Detroit during the bloody upheaval. The authors find that rioters in 1943 included blacks and whites whose activities have much in common with those of earlier rioters and with prewar interracial and postwar commodity riots, which rarely occurred simultaneously, as they did in Detroit.
Unlike other studies of riots, Layered Violence focuses on the identity and motives of the rioters, noting their many diversities, particularly of race, gender, class, and age. It distinguishes between participants of both races and ghetto dwellers who attacked white-owned property. Hence this study, culminating in a comparison of Detroit's conflagrations in 1943 and 1967, breaks new ground and provides a fresh prospective on past and recent racial bloodshed. The authors' effective use of close focus on individual rioters reveals a distinct picture of collective violence from one generation of rioters to another as well as a distinct pattern by which violence occurred in layers as individuals entered, exited, and reentered battle zones for varying reasons. The conclusion of Layered Violence places the upheaval of 1943 in the national context of collective violence in the twentieth century and suggests possible directions that racial discord may take in the future.
The authors draw upon never-before-used police records and court files and combine them with equally original archival data to present several profiles of those who filled the streets of Detroit during the bloody upheaval. The authors find that rioters in 1943 included blacks and whites whose activities have much in common with those of earlier rioters and with prewar interracial and postwar commodity riots, which rarely occurred simultaneously, as they did in Detroit.
Unlike other studies of riots, Layered Violence focuses on the identity and motives of the rioters, noting their many diversities, particularly of race, gender, class, and age. It distinguishes between participants of both races and ghetto dwellers who attacked white-owned property. Hence this study, culminating in a comparison of Detroit's conflagrations in 1943 and 1967, breaks new ground and provides a fresh prospective on past and recent racial bloodshed. The authors' effective use of close focus on individual rioters reveals a distinct picture of collective violence from one generation of rioters to another as well as a distinct pattern by which violence occurred in layers as individuals entered, exited, and reentered battle zones for varying reasons. The conclusion of Layered Violence places the upheaval of 1943 in the national context of collective violence in the twentieth century and suggests possible directions that racial discord may take in the future.
329 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1991
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May 17, 2025
I really appreciated the first and last chapters. The first told the story (as best as they could) about what actually happened. The last summarized the middle chapter findings and extended/compared it to other riots (like the Detroit 1967 riot). The middle chapters were statistics about who the people were that rioted and their motivations. While I appreciate putting faces on statistics, when it wasn't a direct story about a person, it was a bit of a slog through numbers. My takeaways: Despite the deperate need for workers, most employers refused to black people - especially black women. Southerners (black and white), came north for jobs crowding out people who already lived there. There was not enough housing and the city was not investing in more. I need to learn more about the Sojourner Truth housing projects. It's interesting to note that 375 is now in place of the neighborhood where this took place.
"Like untold numbers of others victimized by race war, he had no doubt committed an act of survival and found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time." p 15
"The police exerted ultimate force against blacks....In contrast they emoloyed only persuasion on white rioters." p 19
"In reality, a variety of individuals rioted for sundry reasons. Carrying chips on their shoulders and weapons in their hands, they fought to shore up or, if black, to tear down the color line in Detroit." p 85
"White rioters felt threatened and their black counterparts resentful, for members of both races had made enought gains to want much more." p 179 "...they rioted to improve rather than destroy the system." p 180
Chapter 7 places of inequality that helped ignite violence: public housing, public school facilities, recreation facilities/parks, trasportation, restaurants.
"...rioters surfaced as longtime residents: blacks struggling for a stake in society; whites fighting to hold onto tenuous socioeconomic positions in the face of wartime anxiety and black gains..." p 193
Since this was published in 1991, the analysis of later riots in the 80's and other seemingly race related crime leaves me less satisfied. For example, the Central Park 5 are represented as part of the race retaliation. We know that isn't true so it makes me question analysis of anything after 1970 essentially.
"Like untold numbers of others victimized by race war, he had no doubt committed an act of survival and found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time." p 15
"The police exerted ultimate force against blacks....In contrast they emoloyed only persuasion on white rioters." p 19
"In reality, a variety of individuals rioted for sundry reasons. Carrying chips on their shoulders and weapons in their hands, they fought to shore up or, if black, to tear down the color line in Detroit." p 85
"White rioters felt threatened and their black counterparts resentful, for members of both races had made enought gains to want much more." p 179 "...they rioted to improve rather than destroy the system." p 180
Chapter 7 places of inequality that helped ignite violence: public housing, public school facilities, recreation facilities/parks, trasportation, restaurants.
"...rioters surfaced as longtime residents: blacks struggling for a stake in society; whites fighting to hold onto tenuous socioeconomic positions in the face of wartime anxiety and black gains..." p 193
Since this was published in 1991, the analysis of later riots in the 80's and other seemingly race related crime leaves me less satisfied. For example, the Central Park 5 are represented as part of the race retaliation. We know that isn't true so it makes me question analysis of anything after 1970 essentially.
Displaying 1 of 1 review