The Miami riot of 1980

On May 17, 1980, one of the ugliest incidents of racial violence in U.S. history rocked the city of Miami, and sent shock waves across the nation. On that date, an all-white jury acquitted five white police officers of charges of manslaughter in the death of black insurance executive Arthur McDuffie. The verdict precipitated a riot by black residents of Liberty City and other Miami neighborhoods. Before order was restored three days later, eighteen people were dead. Eight of the victims were whites who had the misfortune to be driving through the riot area when the verdict was announced, and who were savagely beaten, stoned, stabbed, or burned to death by black rioters- while hundreds more looked passively on. In this vivid, shocking account, the authors trace the long, sordid history of race relations in Miami that preceded and in many ways foreordained the riot. From interviews, public reports, and census data, the authors dissect the riot in compelling, minute-by-minute detail, and examine the aftermath, when the devastated community began to pick up the pieces. -- Publisher description.