1968 Washington, D.C., riots

1968 Washington, D.C. riots
Part of the King assassination riots
A firetruck douses smoldering shops burnt out during the riots
Date	April 4, 1968 (1968-04-04) – April 8, 1968 (1968-04-08)
Location	Washington, D.C., U.S. 38°55′01″N 77°01′55″W / 38.91694°N 77.03194°W / 38.91694; -77.03194Coordinates: 38°55′01″N 77°01′55″W / 38.91694°N 77.03194°W / 38.91694; -77.03194
Causes	Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Methods	Rioting, race riots, protests, looting, attacks
Parties to the civil conflict
United States government U.S. 3rd Infantry Regiment District of Columbia government District of Columbia Army National Guard Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia Rioters
Casualties
Death(s)	12
Injuries	1,098
Arrested	6,100+

United States government

District of Columbia government

Washington, D.C. riots of 1968 were six days of riots that erupted in Washington, D.C., following the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. The King assassination riots affected at least 110 U.S. cities; Washington, along with Chicago and Baltimore, were among the most affected.

The ready availability of jobs in the growing federal government attracted many to Washington in the 1960s, and middle class African-American neighborhoods prospered. While the black middle-class community prospered, the lower class was plagued by poor living conditions and fell deeper into poverty. Despite the end of legally mandated racial segregation, the historic neighborhoods of Shaw, the H Street Northeast corridor, and Columbia Heights, centered at the intersection of 14th and U Streets, Northwest, remained the centers of African-American commercial life in the city.