by Renee Aldrich
In the days following the April 4, 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Pittsburgh’s streets filled with protesters and angry rioters. Seven days of riots were spurred by shock and disbelief that the man who utilized non-violence to fight for justice had become a victim of violence himself.
The pain and frustration was undergirded by the poor economic conditions and deep racism felt by Black residents across the country. In comparison to other cities, the destruction was less severe in Pittsburgh. Casualties included one death and 36 people injured, along with more than 1,000 arrests. After news of King’s death hit the airwaves, the impact was immediate. By 10:30 p.m., glass and debris from broken storefronts were strewn along Centre and Fifth avenues.
Fifty-two years later on May 25, 2020 police in Minneapolis responded to a call about a Black man allegedly attempting to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. Police pinned George Floyd to the ground, while a bystander filmed from the side. And there for the whole world to see, the life seeped out of Floyd as he repeated that he couldn’t breath while officer Derek Chauvin calmly pressed his knee into his neck. All the while, three of his fellow officers stood around with their hands in the pockets.
Days of protests broke out – across the country, and in Pittsburgh — and like 1968, some of them included violence and significant property damage. Unlike 1968, social media also streamed the violent crackdown by police across the country — including the controversial use of gas on protesters locally — and while the riots lasted seven days in 1968, demonstrations have been going on for more than a month since Floyd’s death.
Carlos Peterson, 70, a local technical artist who notably is the designer of the “Phoenix Rising” sculpture at Freedom Corner in the Hill District, was 18 in 1968. He vividly recalls what he was doing when he learned of King’s assassination.
“I was living with my brother Paul at that time. He was just home from Vietnam, and we had no TV, so it would be the next day before I found out. At school, a special assembly was called for us, and they brought in some folks from the NAACP to give us the news. Of course, the riots, looting and destruction started by that time.”
Carlos Peterson stands at Freedom Corner. (Photo by Jay Manning/PublicSource)
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