Washington riots, Washington, D.C.
4/1968
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Within a few hours of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennsessee, riots had broken out in several cities across the United States.
In the Washington, DC, where four days earlier King had delivered a sermon at the National Cathedral entitled “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution,” 14th and U Streets became the center of civil unrest.
Rioting and protests continued in Washington, D.C. through April 8th. In the end, 13 people were killed, around 1000 were injured, and over 6100 individuals were arrested.
The National Archives Catalog's shot list describes this film as the following:
"VS, broken windows at McDonald's Drive-In. Night and day scenes, firemen hose down burning building at 7th and O streets. VS, soldiers of the 3rd Infantry, patrol streets walking past store wreckage. CUs, faces of soldiers. VS, smashed mannequins and store fronts. VS, sanitation front loader picks up debris from streets and loads it onto truck. Soldiers at jeep talk on radio. Civil police and military talk on phone. Firemen hose down burning building. Gas inspector checks street with meter. Travel shot past burned and boarded up stores. CS, gas grenade goes off. People rush away. Injured photographer is helped by soldiers. VS, people walk past soldiers. VS, burning buildings. People stand about watching the firefighters."
In the Washington, DC, where four days earlier King had delivered a sermon at the National Cathedral entitled “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution,” 14th and U Streets became the center of civil unrest.
Rioting and protests continued in Washington, D.C. through April 8th. In the end, 13 people were killed, around 1000 were injured, and over 6100 individuals were arrested.
The National Archives Catalog's shot list describes this film as the following:
"VS, broken windows at McDonald's Drive-In. Night and day scenes, firemen hose down burning building at 7th and O streets. VS, soldiers of the 3rd Infantry, patrol streets walking past store wreckage. CUs, faces of soldiers. VS, smashed mannequins and store fronts. VS, sanitation front loader picks up debris from streets and loads it onto truck. Soldiers at jeep talk on radio. Civil police and military talk on phone. Firemen hose down burning building. Gas inspector checks street with meter. Travel shot past burned and boarded up stores. CS, gas grenade goes off. People rush away. Injured photographer is helped by soldiers. VS, people walk past soldiers. VS, burning buildings. People stand about watching the firefighters."
This primary source comes from the Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer.
National Archives Identifier: 31907
Full Citation: 111-LC-52729; Washington riots, Washington, D.C.; 4/1968; Motion Picture Films from the Army Library Copy Collection, 1964–1980; Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Record Group 111; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/washington-dc-riots, June 16, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
