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The Black Freedom Struggle and the 1968 Civil Disturbances in Washington, D.C

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The Black Freedom Struggle and the 1968 Civil Disturbances in Washington, D.C I Believe in the City: The Black Freedom Struggle and the 1968 Civil Disturbances in Washington, D.C. by Kyla Sommers B.A. in History, May 2013, The George Washington University A Dissertation submitted to The Faculty of The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 10, 2019 Dissertation directed by Eric Arnesen James R. Hoffa Teamsters Professor of Modern American Labor History The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University certifies that Kyla Sommers has passed the Final Examination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy as of December 7, 2018. This is the final and approved form of the dissertation. I Believe in the City: The Black Freedom Struggle and the 1968 Civil Disturbances in Washington, D.C. Kyla Sommers Dissertation Research Committee: Eric Arnesen, James R. Hoffa Teamsters Professor of Modern American Labor History, Dissertation Director Eric Chapman, Associate Professor of History, Committee Member Christopher Klemek, Associate Professor of History, Committee Member ii Acknowledgements When I was 17 years old, I decided to attend the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. My dad encouraged me to get a degree in history because he believed it would provide me with a “good, classical education” to ground whatever I chose to do next. My classes with Chris Tudda, Katrin Schultheiss, Hope Harrison, Andrew Zimmerman, and others sparked my passion for history. Dr. Tudda first suggested I pursue a PhD in history and his encouragement led me to apply to several doctoral programs. At 22 years old, I once again chose to attend GWU. After ten and a half years at this institution, I am thankful for the role GW played in both my academic development and personal growth. I owe many people in the GWU History Department my gratitude. Thank you to the many wonderful professors who put up with me. The late Leo Ribuffo, Erin Chapman, Eric Arnesen, Chris Klemek, and Andrew Zimmerman all provided invaluable instruction and encouragement. You each challenged me and motivated me to produce the best history I could. To the many friends I’ve made in the tiny confines of the history TA office, thanks for tolerating my perpetually disorganized desk(s) and providing much- needed laughter and support. To the GW debate team, especially its director Paul Hayes, thanks for honing my research and communication skills that were so helpful in my graduate studies. I also am indebted to the archivists and librarians who aided my dissertation research. In particular, thank you to Derek Gray of the Washingtoniana division of the D.C. Public Library, Jennifer King at Gelman Special Collections, and Anne McDonough of the Kiplinger Library at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. Thank you to the iii D.C. African Archives Project for curating many of the materials that I found invaluable while researching. The passion for D.C. history present at these repositories is palpable and inspiring. Thank you to the people who supported me as I struggled to complete my dissertation. To my family—Brian, Melody, Kari, Keith, and Kaleb—thanks for your endless love, goofiness, and strength. Each one of us has needed special support at some point and I am grateful that you were there for me as it was my turn. Erin, thank you for your thoughtfulness and ability to make me feel better (especially through laughter) from hundreds of miles away. To the 401 crew, the late night sing-along bunch, the Midwest Mafia, and all the other friends who have helped make D.C. home, thank you for providing joy throughout this process. Finally, to quote a favorite professor, “if you can live with someone who is writing their dissertation and not stab them, you’re doing pretty good.” Not only did Nate not stab me, he was extremely patient, understanding, and helpful. Thank you for your love and support, Nate. Because I couldn’t have done this without you, this dissertation is dedicated to you. iv Abstract I Believe in the City: The Black Freedom Struggle and the 1968 Civil Disturbances in Washington, D.C. This dissertation examines the causes of the 1968 civil disturbances in Washington, D.C., how the disturbances have been understood and interpreted, and the legacy of the events. Answers to these questions posed in historical accounts of D.C. in April 1968, I conclude, are insufficient or inadequate. While one cannot whitewash the damage done to Washington nor deny the reality of the high crime rates in the late 1960s, there is more to the story of the civil disturbances than burned-out buildings and white backlash. It is just as important to illuminate the activism that preceded the upheaval and the subsequent efforts to rebuild D.C. This dissertation adds important nuance to historical understanding of what sparks urban uprisings, why people choose to participate, and the ways these incidents are politicized. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………....iii Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...v Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….1 Chapter 1: “I’ve Been Living with Tension All My Life:” Power and Protest in the Emblematic Capital……………………………………………………………………...16 Chapter 2: “You Just Can’t Expect People Not to Act This Way:” April 4-16, 1968…..82 Chapter 3: “And then people say, ‘Well, why would you turn on your own community?’” Explaining the 1968 Civil Disturbances………………………………..140 Chapter 4: “Tempering Firmness With Restraint:” The Justice System and the Civil Disturbances…………………………………………………………………………….199 Chapter 5: “This Has Created Both a Vacuum and an Opportunity:” Rebuilding Washington, D.C………………………………………………………………………..245 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...305 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………313 vi Introduction “At this time, we will hear from Commission Walter Washington of the District of Columbia,” announced North Carolina Congressman Basil Whitener in May 1968. 1 Washington had come to testify before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives on the District of Columbia (D.C. House Committee) on two bills that would limit the power of the D.C. government and constrain black activism. Conservative politicians wrote both pieces of legislation in response to the civil disorders that engulfed D.C. after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968. Although over 200 cities erupted in protest and violence after King’s death, the disturbances in Washington caused the most property damage, resulted in the greatest number of arrests, and was occupied by the largest number of federal troops.2 As the newly appointed mayor of D.C., Walter Washington handled the crisis with restraint and competence. The D.C. House Committee, however, viewed Walter Washington as an illegitimate leader appointed to usurp its members’ power. After the Committee blocked numerous efforts to grant the capital home rule, President Lyndon Johnson restructured the District’s government to give D.C. more control over its own affairs and appointed native Washingtonian Walter Washington mayor in 1967. For nearly 100 years before, Congress had governed Washington, setting its budget, determining its laws, and 1 “Statement of Hon. Walter Washington, Commissioner, District of Columbia; Accompanied by Chief John B. Layton, Metropolitan Police Department; Thomas Appleby, Executive Director, Redevelopment Land Agency; Julian R. Dugas, Director, Department of Licenses and Inspections; Dr. Murray Grant, Director, Department of Public Health; Dr. Fred Health, Department of Public Health; Robert Kniepp, Assistant Corporation Counsel; and William N. Dripps, Department of Licenses and Inspections,” 153, Civil Disturbances in Washington: Hearings Before the Committee on the District of Columbia House of Representatives, Ninetieth Congress Second Session: Investigation of the April 1968 Rioting, Looting, Damages and Losses, and Police Actions: May and July, 1968 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1968). P1621, Kiplinger Research Library Archives, Washington, D.C. This publication is hereafter referred to as Civil Disturbances in Washington. 2 Lemberg Center for the Study of Violence, Riot Data Review (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan, 1968), 62, 227. 1 appointing its leaders. North Carolina Congressman John McMillan, the chairman of the D.C. House Committee, insisted “communist sympathizers” backed D.C. home rule and was so opposed to Walter Washington’s appointment that he sent the African American mayor a wagon of watermelons after Washington submitted his first budget to McMillan’s office.3 Other committee members refused to refer to Washington as “mayor,” instead calling him a commissioner. Thus, Whitener’s seemingly simple introduction of “Commissioner Washington” was in fact a slight intended to diminish his legitimacy. Mayor Washington was called to testify about two bills that he opposed. In a thinly veiled attempt to curtail future civil rights protests, H.R. 16941 proposed to require monetary bonds from those who sought to obtain a parade permit in Washington. Government officials could then easily demand an unattainably high bond price to effectually bar an undesired demonstration. Second, H.R. 16948 would mandate the D.C. government to pay for the cleanup of private businesses after the civil disorders the previous month.4 The bills rebuked Washington and his government in two ways: one asserted that the District had done such a poor job handling the civil disorders that it should be held financially responsible for business owners’ clean up expenses; the other suggested that the federal government had so little faith in the city’s ability to manage protests that Congress would prevent demonstrations from occurring in the first place. The witnesses preceding Mayor Washington depicted the capital as a city held hostage by protestors and criminals with a government that was unwilling and unable to 3 ‘”Red Sympathizers Support Home Rule, McMillan Asserts,” Washington Post, B22, January 5, 1966; Harry S. Jaffe and Tom Sherwood, Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington D.C.
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