Rodney riots Rodney riots The Rodney riots were riots and civil disturbances in Kingston, Jamaica in October 1968. The riots were sparked by the Jamaican government of Hugh Shearer banning Guyanese university lecturer Dr. Walter Rodney from returning to his teaching position at the University of the West Indies. Rodney, a historian of Africa had been active in the Black power movement, and had been sharply critical of the middle class in many Caribbean countries. Rodney was an avowed socialist who worked with the poor of Jamaica in an attempt to raise their political and cultural consciousness. When Rodney attended a black
1968 Washington, D.C. riots 1968 Washington, D.C. riots The Washington, D.C. riots of 1968 were 4 days of riots in Washington, D.C. that followed 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 United States government attracted many people 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.