Two Societies- Document 5 riots

Al Raby and Edward Vaughn were both people who experianced different aspects of the riots. The riots happened in newighborhoods and street corners all of the city. Alot of time the riots esclated to alot of people dying at the end and alot of involment by other groups taht should not have been involved. Al Raby was a movement leader. He was trying to promote voting rights and public accommodations to black people and the riots were proving everything he was trying to advocate wrong. The riots made the movement look bad when the black people were acting badly even though it was not nessicarily their faults, just they way they were treated. White police officers would harass blacks for drinking alcohol at a club, which one then make the black person act hostile and create an even bigger riot. Edward Vaugh who was a activist and a book store owner during the riots. He saw people fighting in riots because they were fed up with how they were treated. Black people started some of the riots because "they were fed up and decided they would strike out".

3. Vaughn says of the riots, “I don’t think it was the call for Black Power that did it. I think it was thelack of power that did it.” What does he mean?

He means that black people did not cause riots because they thought they were above everyone, they caused riots because even when they should have equality, they were still treated unfairly and they wanted to make a point. They came to a point where they had no more self control and started these riots. It seemed like proving to people that they were able to fight back at white was more important then proving they were above everything. It came to a point where they were treated so bad, and they had no power what so ever, that causing these riots were the only way to make a point.