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REVOLUTION '67 focuses on the explosive urban rebellion in Newark, New Jersey, in July 1967, to reveal the long-standing racial, economic, and political forces which generated inner city poverty and perpetuate it today. Newark residents, police, officials, and urban commentators, including writer/activist Amiri Baraka, journalist Bob Herbert, prominent historians, and ‘60s activist Tom Hayden, recount the vivid, day-to-day details of the uprising. But they also trace those traumatic days back to decades of industrial decline, unemployment, job and housing discrimination, federal programs favoring suburbs over cities, police impunity, political corruption, and a costly, divisive overseas war. Americans should not have been surprised when race wars exploded, turning cities into combat zones, bringing Vietnam back home. The spark igniting this firestorm of pent-up rage in Newark was, as is so often, an encounter between a black man and the police. On July 12th, 1967, two white officers stopped a black taxi driver for a minor traffic violation, beat him, and dragged him into the local precinct. A rumor spread rapidly through black neighborhoods that the driver had died. Though this proved to be untrue, years of police brutality incited a crowd to rampage through the streets, breaking windows, and looting white-owned businesses reputed to cheat their black customers. The next night, a mass protest meeting erupted into more widespread violence. In the ensuing six days, 26 people died, 24 of them African American, and 725 were wounded. With its insightful interviews and poignant analysis, REVOLUTION '67 also traces the contributing factors that led up to the riots in Newark, as well as those in Detroit, Watts and countless other American cities in the '60s. And the film's postscript “Newark Today,” provides a startling looked at what has and has not changed in the past 40 years.
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“Here in Newark, we partnered with Revolution ’67 to bring this insightful documentary to our community.” —Cory A. Booker, Mayor of Newark, NJ
"Revolution '67 accurately and effectively captures the mood, the pain, the loss, the ambiguity, the fear and the continuing impact of the violent unrest of the summer of 1967." —Lonnie G. Bunch, Founding Director, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
“Revolution '67 dramatically reminded us of what I have called 'the awakening.' I was fascinated by every moment of the documentary.” —Brendan Byrne, former NJ Governor (Essex County Prosecutor in 1967)
“An outstanding portrait of the 1967 Newark rebellion – the kind of event that certainly could repeat itself in any US city in the coming period.” —Chester Hartman, Director of Research, Poverty & Race Research Action Council, Washington, DC
"A powerful film which provides a comprehensive analysis of the events in Newark. It defines the impact of numerous planning decisions at the local, state and federal levels, and the outcome of discriminatory practices in the real estate and finance industries. Should be mandatory viewing for anyone affiliated with Urban Studies or working in the field of Planning." —Brenda Kayzar, Urban Studies Program, Department of Geography, University of Minnesota
“It is a documentary film like none other! Revolution '67 is a bold, inquisitive, and important contribution...That it sheds light on a complicated narrative about race, power, community agency, and memory secures its place among the finest films of the genre." —Clement Alexander Price, Rutgers University
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