1968 Pittsburgh riots
{{Short description|Series of urban disturbances that erupted in Pittsburgh on April 5, 1968}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = 1968 Pittsburgh riots
| partof = the King assassination riots
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| date = April 5–11, 1968
| place = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| coordinates =
| causes = Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
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| status =
| result = Property destroyed, order restored
| side1 = Rioters
| side2 = Pittsburgh Police Department
Pennsylvania National Guard
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| fatalities = 1
| injuries = 36
| arrests = 1,000
| detentions =
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| notes =
| sidebox = {{King assassination riots}}
}}
The 1968 Pittsburgh riots were a series of urban disturbances that erupted in Pittsburgh on April 5, 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King. Pittsburgh, along with 110 other cities, burned for several days and 3,600 National Guardsmen were needed to quell the disorder.{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-fox/pittsburghs-hill-district-dream_b_1669867.html|title=Pittsburgh's Hill District: The Death Of A Dream|work=The Huffington Post|date=16 July 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/viewFile/59171/58896 |title=1968 : The Year That Rocked Pittsburgh |author=Emily Ruby |website=Journals.psu.edu |access-date=2016-04-21}}{{Cite web|url=http://popularpittsburgh.com/history-of-riots-in-pittsburgh/|title=History of Riots in Pittsburgh|date=17 June 2015}}{{Cite news |date=April 2, 2008 |title=MLK riots: 40 years later, turmoil on the Hill stirs memories |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/life/lifestyle/2008/04/02/MLK-riots-40-years-later-turmoil-on-the-Hill-stirs-memories/stories/200804020183 |access-date=August 30, 2022}}{{Cite news |last1=Mellon |first1=Steven |last2=Routh |first2=Julian |date=April 2, 2018 |title=The Week the Hill Rose Up |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/the-week-the-hill-rose-up/ |access-date=July 31, 2022}}
Overview
The neighborhoods most impacted were the Hill District, North Side, and Homewood. More than one hundred businesses were either vandalized or looted with arsonists setting 505 fires.{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-fox/pittsburghs-hill-district-dream_b_1669867.html|title=Pittsburgh's Hill District: The Death Of A Dream|work=The Huffington Post|date=16 July 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/viewFile/59171/58896 |title=1968 : The Year That Rocked Pittsburgh |author=Emily Ruby |website=Journals.psu.edu |access-date=2016-04-21}}{{Cite web|url=http://popularpittsburgh.com/history-of-riots-in-pittsburgh/|title=History of Riots in Pittsburgh|date=17 June 2015}}{{Cite news |date=April 2, 2008 |title=MLK riots: 40 years later, turmoil on the Hill stirs memories |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/life/lifestyle/2008/04/02/MLK-riots-40-years-later-turmoil-on-the-Hill-stirs-memories/stories/200804020183 |access-date=August 30, 2022}}{{Cite news |last1=Mellon |first1=Steven |last2=Routh |first2=Julian |date=April 2, 2018 |title=The Week the Hill Rose Up |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/the-week-the-hill-rose-up/ |access-date=July 31, 2022}}
One person was killed and thirty-six were injured.{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-fox/pittsburghs-hill-district-dream_b_1669867.html|title=Pittsburgh's Hill District: The Death Of A Dream|work=The Huffington Post|date=16 July 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/viewFile/59171/58896 |title=1968 : The Year That Rocked Pittsburgh |author=Emily Ruby |website=Journals.psu.edu |access-date=2016-04-21}}{{Cite web|url=http://popularpittsburgh.com/history-of-riots-in-pittsburgh/|title=History of Riots in Pittsburgh|date=17 June 2015}}{{Cite news |date=April 2, 2008 |title=MLK riots: 40 years later, turmoil on the Hill stirs memories |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/life/lifestyle/2008/04/02/MLK-riots-40-years-later-turmoil-on-the-Hill-stirs-memories/stories/200804020183 |access-date=August 30, 2022}}{{Cite news |last1=Mellon |first1=Steven |last2=Routh |first2=Julian |date=April 2, 2018 |title=The Week the Hill Rose Up |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/the-week-the-hill-rose-up/ |access-date=July 31, 2022}}
==Aftermath==
After six days, order was finally restored on April 11, with property damage surpassing $600,000 (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|600000|1968|r=2}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}). One thousand arrests were made by law enforcement. Many of the neighborhoods impacted never fully recovered in the following decades.{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-fox/pittsburghs-hill-district-dream_b_1669867.html|title=Pittsburgh's Hill District: The Death Of A Dream|work=The Huffington Post|date=16 July 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/viewFile/59171/58896 |title=1968 : The Year That Rocked Pittsburgh |author=Emily Ruby |website=Journals.psu.edu |access-date=2016-04-21}}{{Cite web|url=http://popularpittsburgh.com/history-of-riots-in-pittsburgh/|title=History of Riots in Pittsburgh|date=17 June 2015}}{{Cite news |date=April 2, 2008 |title=MLK riots: 40 years later, turmoil on the Hill stirs memories |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/life/lifestyle/2008/04/02/MLK-riots-40-years-later-turmoil-on-the-Hill-stirs-memories/stories/200804020183 |access-date=August 30, 2022}}{{Cite news |last1=Mellon |first1=Steven |last2=Routh |first2=Julian |date=April 2, 2018 |title=The Week the Hill Rose Up |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/the-week-the-hill-rose-up/ |access-date=July 31, 2022}}