{"id":1531,"date":"2009-07-22T06:19:59","date_gmt":"2009-07-22T06:19:59","guid":{"rendered":"\/yorktownsquare\/2009\/07\/22\/manonmoon-1\/"},"modified":"2013-08-25T17:51:40","modified_gmt":"2013-08-25T21:51:40","slug":"manonmoon-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/manonmoon-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping to sort it out in York, Part II: Equations explain causes of late 1960s race riots"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is perhaps the photograph used most often to illustrate stories on the York race riots of 1968-69. The National Guard was called in to York to supplement local and state police forces that were seeking to quell rioting in 1969. The photo first appeared in The Gazette and Daily and is now part of the York County Heritage Trust’s Archives. Background posts: Helping to sort it out in York: Timeline of 1969 race riots, Part I<\/a> and Since 1887, York mayors have dealt with the serious – and the silly<\/a> and York Charrette or charade?<\/a><\/strong>
\nA visiting journalist, a college professor, was due in our office to gather background on the race riots<\/a> of the late 1960s and particularly the legal resolution of the trials in 2000 to 2002.
\nI contemplated concise ways to explain both tough, memorable moments and finally came upon the idea of putting forth the causes and effects in the form of chemical equations.
\nSo, to explain the riots, I wrote:<\/p>\n

Long racial oppression + neglect of services for low-income people + unfit mayor + boiling U.S. urban racial environment + K-9 Corps<\/a> (as a catalyst) = York riots of 1968-69.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

… .<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

These roses, placed during this year’s Unity March, represent the Newberry Street railroad crossing site Lillie Belle Allen was shot in 1969 during the race riots in York. <\/strong>
\nAnd to explain the race riot trials, I scribbled:<\/p>\n

Unfinished, unresolved murder cases + underfunded community services + unfit mayor + aggressive prosecutors (as a catalyst) = Race riot trials.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The equation-method went OK – the journalist was already very knowledgeable about both moments.
\nSo, I kept them knowing I could share them with blog readers on this 40th anniversary of the riots.
\nAnd I worked them into a York Sunday News editorial “There’s still a war on in York” (7\/19\/09), along with a reference to the moon landing<\/a>, that is celebrating the same anniversary.
\nYou can now see what we came up with when we mixed all these ideas:<\/p>\n

In the summers of 1968 and 1969, there was a war on in York.
\nIf one were to explain this war — known locally as the race riots — in an equation, you’d have:
\nLong racial oppression + neglect of services for low-income people + unfit mayor + boiling U.S. urban racial environment + K-9 Corps (as a catalyst) = York riots of 1968-69.
\nThe York Charrette — a kind of group civic therapy session, according to Newsweek — pulled people together and helped ease tension in the summer of 1970. The police dogs went away soon thereafter, and the deadly and destructive Tropical Storm Agnes captured York’s attention after that.
\nTime passed.
\nBut the riots lacked closure with two slayings still very much open. By the turn of the millennium, some in the community finally decided justice needed to be meted out.
\nThe equation for what was going on in the community in the year 2000 would look like this:
\nUnfinished, unresolved murder cases + underfunded community services + unfit mayor + aggressive prosecutors (as a catalyst) = Race riot trials.
\nThose legal proceedings probing the Lillie Belle Allen<\/a> and Henry C. Schaad <\/a>slayings brought a degree of closure.
\nPredatory hate groups<\/a> picked at the scab covering the healing wound but gained no edge here and soon skedaddled.
\n***
\nIn 2009 — 40 years after the riots ended — there is still a war on in York.
\nThat war is no longer framed as the black community versus police.
\nSome in the neighborhoods welcome law enforcement protection. That’s progress, and we’ll take that.
\nUnfortunately, others use passive-aggressive resistance. They don’t oppose the police, but they don’t help them either.
\nClearly, police have to get to know their community even better so that people can grow to trust them further and count on their protection against retaliation.
\nDrugs seem to be catalyzing today’s raging war. Winning that battle seems so daunting, so insolvable.
\nHere are two thoughts — one from 240,000 miles above; the other from street level.
\nOn the day the gang shot Lillie Belle Allen, The Gazette and Daily joined newspapers around the world in reporting that men walked on the moon for the first time.
\nThe big concept is that if we can send men to the moon, we can solve the drug problem and win a key battle in the war. Heck, if we can go to the moon, we can win the whole war.
\nAnd consultant David Rusk, YorkCounts and Metro York<\/a> have put forth tactics to fight against the concentration of poverty and for improvement in city education.
\nAt street level, we need more Noreen Freelands.
\nAccording to Mike Argento’s<\/a> story elsewhere in today’s newspaper:
\nMs. Freeland keeps an eye on her South Hartley Street neighborhood, confronting drug dealers and alerting police about the bad guys.
\nHer bravery has brought retaliation, but Ms. Freeland persists.
\nRecently, a man was shot near her house. She heard his cries for help and responded.
\nSome people said she should not have assisted.
\n“He’s still a human being,” she said. “I had to help him.”
\nThat’s about right.
\nShe just took back a little piece of her neighborhood.
\nMore must do so.
\nDo so, because it’s right.
\nDo so, in the memory of Lillie Belle Allen and Henry C. Schaad.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is perhaps the photograph used most often to illustrate stories on the York race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,5,33,6,7,47,10,4,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-politics-is-local","category-archives-all-posts","category-black-history","category-events","category-explanationscontroversy","category-for-photo-fans","category-genealogyresearch","category-local-journalism-web","category-local-landmarks"],"yoast_head":"\nHelping to sort it out in York, Part II: Equations explain causes of late 1960s race riots - York Town Square<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/manonmoon-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Helping to sort it out in York, Part II: Equations explain causes of late 1960s race riots - 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