[1968 WASHINGTON, D.C. POST-MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. ASSASSINATION RIOTS]

Year Published: 1968

Description:

This brief film shows the 1968 riots in Washington, D.C. that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a leading African-American civil rights activist. The riots occurred on April 4, 1968, Washington, D.C., experienced a four-day period of violent civil unrest and rioting. Part of the broader riots that affected at least 110 U.S. cities, those in Washington, D.C.—along with those in Chicago and in Baltimore—were among those with the greatest numbers of participants. President Lyndon B. Johnson called in the National Guard to the city on April 5, 1968, to assist the police department in quelling the unrest. Ultimately, 13 people were killed, with approximately 1,000 people injured and over 6,100 arrested.

The film contains footage of police beating African American protestors, footage of large groups of African Americans being escorted away by police, footage of African American men motionless in street, footage of African American men being arrested and put in cars, footage of African American men being carried away in stretchers, footage of burning and smashed buildings, footage of Military Police or National Guard in front of D.C. Capitol.

Complete Record: This brief film shows the 1968 riots in Washington, D.C. that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a leading African-American civil rights activist. The riots occurred on April 4, 1968, Washington, D.C., experienced a four-day period of violent civil unrest and rioting. Part of the broader riots that affected at least 110 U.S. cities, those in Washington, D.C.—along with those in Chicago and in Baltimore—were among those with the greatest numbers of participants. President Lyndon B. Johnson called in the National Guard to the city on April 5, 1968, to assist the police department in quelling the unrest. Ultimately, 13 people were killed, with approximately 1,000 people injured and over 6,100 arrested. The film contains footage of police beating African American protestors, footage of large groups of African Americans being escorted away by police, footage of African American men motionless in street, footage of African American men being arrested and put in cars, footage of African American men being carried away in stretchers, footage of burning and smashed buildings, footage of Military Police or National Guard in front of D.C. Capitol.