Fighting in the streets: a timeline of police violence and race riots in the US

This timeline shows some of the major race riots in the USA since 1935. It is far from exhaustive. It identifies protests and rioting predominantly by black Americans against white authorities. It is not our intention to suggest the violence goes only one way, but to highlight the times in recent history in which the anger and frustration of black Americans have boiled over to this point.

1935 - The Harlem Riot is triggered by an incident involving a black Puerto Rican teen and a shop manager, this riot has been cited by some as the first of the 'modern' kind in the USA, partly as it targeted property and was based on the struggle between the African American population and police. It lasted two days, reports vary on the number killed, between one and four.

1943 - In Detroit, racial tension between black and white residents grows into mob violence on both sides, until the arrival of 6,000 army troops in tanks. Thirty-four people die. In Harlem, a riot breaks out after a white police officer shot and wounded an African American soldier. Five people die.

1964 - Harlem Riot. Thousands protest after 15-year-old African American student James Powell was shot dead by a policeman in front of the boy's friends and others. Over six nights, about 4000 people are involved in protests that turn violent, marking the start of years of unrest, known as ghetto riots, in multiple cities.

1965 - In Watts, a predominantly poor, black neighbourhood of Los Angeles, white police pull over a black motorist for reckless driving. The arrest becomes confrontational and results in six days of rioting, leaving 34 dead.

1967 - The Long Hot Summer describes a wave of 159 race riots across the nation, including in Newark, New Jersey, where 26 people died. The bloodiest of this period was the Detroit riot resulting in 43 deaths. These riots lead the then-President Lyndon B Johnson to set up a Commission on Civil Disorders.

1968 - The assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King sets off more than 100 riots across the USA, the biggest of which are in Washington D.C., Baltimore, Chicago and Kansas City, leaving a total of 43 people dead.

On H Street, Washington, DC, only storefronts remain standing, April 1968.Credit: Washington Post

1969 - The New York Times reports that federal officials believe the era of large scale urban rioting is over.

1980 - In Miami, four white officers are acquitted of killing a black motorcyclist in a police brutality case, triggering a four-day riot in which 18 people die. The victim's friend happened to work as a spokesman for the police force involved.

1992 - Four Los Angeles police officers are acquitted of the brutal bashing of African American man Rodney King. The beating in 1991 had been captured on tape and was shown repeatedly on television for a year leading up to the acquittal. At the court's decision, thousands take to the streets in violent protests lasting five days in which more than 60 people lose their lives and more than 1000 buildings are destroyed by fire.

In this May 3, 1992 file photo, a cross, flowers and a banner urging an end to violence adorn the ruins of a service station at Florence and Normandie Avenues in South-Central Los Angeles.Credit: AP

2014 - African-American man Eric Garner dies after being put in a choke-hold by a New York City police officer, triggering protests across the country. Weeks later, in Ferguson, Missouri, police shoot an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, 18. A grand jury declines to charge the officer with murder, setting off weeks of unrest, including arson, fires and looting. The governor declares a state of emergency.

2015 - Baltimore police officers arrest 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who sustains head and neck injuries in the police van, slips into a coma and dies a week later. Protests began after his funeral, but spiralled out of control: 30 officers were injured; at least 250 people arrested; up to 250 businesses were damaged; and a state of emergency was declared within the city limits. Gray's death was ruled to be a homicide. Related charges against six police officers were subsequently dropped.

Died in police custody in Baltimore in 2015: 25-year-old Freddie Gray's death was ruled a homicide and six police officers were charged. The charges were subsequently dropped. Credit: CNN

2016 - Riots broke out in both Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Charlotte, North Carolina after the fatal police shootings of Sylville Smith and Keith Lamont Scott during confrontations. A curfew was set for teenagers in Milwaukee after three days of civil unrest, while in Charlotte, a peaceful daytime protest turned violent overnight, with looting, fires and mass arrests. One man was shot dead by another civilian, who was subsequently found guilty of murder. No charges were laid against police officers in either case.

2020 - The May 25 death of Minneapolis man George Floyd after he had been pinned under the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin outraged black Americans, who demonstrated in more than 40 cities across the States demanding consequences. Protests escalated in several cities after dark, with a Minneapolis police station burned down, buildings trashed in dozens of cities and looting in New York and Los Angeles. While President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military to restore order, after a week of riots the demonstrations were mostly peaceful.