Causes of The McDuffie Riot History Essay Example

📌Category: History, Racism, Social Issues, Social Movements
📌Words: 931
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 11 April 2022

 

In 1980 one of the biggest race riots struck the streets of Miami-Dade. When five white Miami Dade police officers were acquitted for the beating and murder of Arthur McDuffie. The Black community was outraged because so many unfortunate events were happening to them and all around them. Although the riot steamed from the acquittal of those officers that beat and murdered McDuffie, police injustice, police misconduct, and lack of Black political leaders for the Black community were also factors that contributed and cause the riot. 

The first cause of the McDuffie riot is the police injustices that for many years had been happening to minorities with little to no consequences. McDuffie’s brutal beating and death being the last straw. The actions of officers towards people of color and there being little to no justice for victims. For example, the case of Willie T Jones a Florida highway patrol officer who sexual assaulted a young Black girl on January 9, 1975, although Jones was suspended and charged, he only received 3 years’ probation, psychotherapy and was required to pay for the girl’s psychiatric needs there was barely any publicity (Dunn). Another case happened February 12, 1979, where several white police officers conducting a drug raid beat a father and son and sexually assaulted their female friend, the officers all but one was just suspended (Dunn). The officers were not charged with any of the crimes they committed (Dunn). In the case of McDuffie even with multiple witnesses including fellow officers there was no justice and no one was held accountable for the murder or the cover up. The injustices of the police cause fear and anger which makes people want to retaliate and seek justice as it comes. Also, with the police being the perpetrators the community had no recourse. The rioters felt since there is no justice there will be no peace. 

The next cause of the McDuffie riot is police misconduct against minorities. There had many cases of misconduct like on February 4, 1968, two white Miami-Dade police officers arrested seventeen-year-old Robert Owens for carrying a concealed knife but on the way to the station they took him to an unfinished bridge and made him strip naked and dangled him by his ankles above the river (Dunn). Weeks before the bridge incident a delegation of Black people asked for one of the officers in this case to be removed from the liberty city beat due to his anti-Black conduct the police chief Walter Headley disregarded the complaints as silly (Dunn). This lack of misconduct over the years coupled with the misconduct in the murder of Arthur McDuffie which was written up a crash following a high-speed chase later discovered as a brutal beating created community outrage and added to the cause for the riot. Also, with the lack of oversight with police misconduct what would stop them from doing it again and with the being the case the riots were a way to demand change.

Another cause for the McDuffie riot was lack of Black leaders in the Black community. In recent years there has been more representation but in the 1970s and 80s there was a lack of leaders that understood the black struggle. This is seen even in the court case that followed the McDuffie murder the Judge and jury were all white. Lack of Black leaders left a community without justice serve and anger. There was no one to push for justice. In the 1950s Rev Edward T. Graham was involved in the Dade County civil rights movement, appointed to city of Miami commission 1970, in 1971 he was elected metro commissioner and by 1975 he was found guilty of accepting bribes although the charges were dropped the damage was done (Dunn). Then there was Neal Adams who was appointed metro commissioner in 1975 following Graham’s conviction. Adams ran a grocery store in Brownsville and ran Brownsville improvement association and the Brownsville NAACP youth council but in 1979 he was suspended pending to felony indictments for operating a gambling house and lost his rights to hold public office (Dunn). A month later the conviction was overturned due to his public work. This is to say that had there been more Black leaders the riot could’ve been a peaceful protest. If there were more Black leaders there may have been justice, and someone would have been held accountable for the brutal murder of Arthur McDuffie. Having a leader may have allowed the riots to be a more peaceful protest and allowed the communities voices to be heard. The timing of the McDuffie riot seems to have been during the aftermath of many Black leaders being arrested and removed from office. 

Lastly the main cause for the McDuffie riot was the acquittal of the five white police officers that killed Arthur McDuffie. The case which should have been open and shut with so many witnesses including the fellow police officers and the medical examiners assertion that the cause of death didn’t match what was reported. There was the cover up, the police misconduct and judicial misconduct. Starting with the move to Tampa from Miami for the trial citing too much publicity. Then the intentional exclusion of Black people for the trial jury. Overall, this case highlighted the vast differences in being the minority versus majority. When the acquittal happen it showed that Black lives didn’t matter which made people lash out and demand for change. 

In conclusion there were many things that cause the McDuffie riots including the acquittal, police injustice, police misconduct and lack of Black leaders in the Black community. The riot was a reaction of a community that wanted someone to pay. The community was reeling in fear and anger which resulted in more death and destruction. The causes of this riot were building over the years with the injustice and misdeeds done to minorities with the outright brutality of the murder of a human and the failed cover up. The fact that they were arrested gave the community hope that was lost.

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