Riots remembered

摘要

FIFTY years ago, Detroit lived through one of the worst riots in American history. So painful were the memories of the five days of killing, looting and arson that during previous anniversaries of the uprising, which started on July 23rd 1967 when police busted a "blind pig", an unlicensed gambling and drinking joint, Detroiters largely avoided talking about it.Many believe the riots marked the beginning of the city's decline, culminating in its bankruptcy in 2013. This anniversary is different. Around 100 institutions, including the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the Detroit Institute of Art, are reflecting on 1967 with books and booklets, exhibitions, documentary films, lectures and concerts. The effort has its own fancy logo and slogan ("Looking back to move forward").On July 25th Hollywood descended on Detroit for the red-carpet premiere of "Detroit". The film dramatises one particularly violent incident during the riots, at the Algiers motel on Woodward Avenue, when several young black men and two white women were forced to line up in the hallway with their hands up. Their interrogation by the police ended in violence and murder. Dressed to the nines, an audience of around 2,200 filled the venue. They clapped loudly when Michael Eric Dyson, a local historian, introduced the director, Kathryn Bigelow, as "a white woman cleaning up the mess white people made".