York Riots of 1969: Many Eyes Visualization
One of the three riots that I am examining took place in July 1969 at the very same time that Neil Armstrong took mankind’s first step on the moon. By 1969, most contemporaries felt that the riots of the era had passed. They had also concluded that the riots of the era differed significantly from the race riots that had taken place earlier in the century. Specifically, they argued that there were few physical clashes. Some even called the disorders of the sixties “commodity” because of the prevalence of looting (and arson). In so far as shooting took place, it was deemed to be largely reserved to the actions of the police, state troopers, and poorly trained national guardsmen, and to snipers, though sniper fire in most riots was vastly over-estimated. This visualization of all of the recorded incidents that took place in York during 1969 suggests that this was not always the case. No incidents of looting were recorded and arson was relatively infrequent. In contrast, there were multiple attacks on people and their homes, most often with rocks (or bricks) and with guns. While York became famous in 2002 when its mayor was arrested for one of the murders that had taken place in 1969, it is remarkable that more people were not killed. Hopefully, I’ll be able to map the riot in the near future.