What were the socioeconomic conditions and factors that produced the instances in which riots erupted in northern U.S. cities in 1964? This book examines the year in American history that brought a new era in race relations to the nation.

• Presents a comprehensive analysis of the violence that plagued the United States during a crucial period of race relations—information that cannot be found in a single source in the existing literature on racial violence

• Offers in-depth case studies of specific riots that erupted in 1964

• Explains why riots occurred where they did in the United States

• Explores the 1964 riots within the context of the broader social, economic, and political issues of the 1960s