Over the past 40 years, Newark has gone through tumultuous racial segregation. From the very beginning, Newark has been ever changing especially socially following the Newark Riots of 1967. In an effort to redevelop Newark, our African American residents still suffers as a result of its revitalization. Through the social shifts of the 1950’s, Newark’s people of color have endured unfortunate circumstance due to the change in the city’s government, poor housing, and troubles in the economy. With hopes to pursue a new life, many African American families migrated to the northern states with the thought of living a dream that guarantees a home, job and free education for their children. After escaping Jim Crow and his segregated laws, many African Americans soon had seen that battle was only half fought. An influx of poor, uneducated, unskilled, African Americans came up north to take advantage of the greater job opportunities and the higher welfare benefits here. Prior to the migration of southern blacks the city of Newark had already been structured by its people. People were separated by ward. Newark was, and still is the most diverse city in this city. In Newark, injustice was directed toward African American residents living in the poverty­ stricken Central Ward. Its five wards are split apart and essentially segregated. The West Ward, once known as predominantly Irish-American neighborhood today is home to neighborhoods composed primarily of African-Americans and Haitians. The South Ward was once home to predominantly Jewish and now consists of African Americans and Hispanics. The north ward is and always will be the most diverse section of Newark it is a mix of Italian-Americans, African-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America. The east ward is split into different neighborhoods; Ironbound, Dayton, and the Downtown section and is home to roughly 55,000 residents. Spanish and Puerto Rican, Cuban, Irish, Italian, Polish, Jewish, Slavic and Lithuanian are the majority of the population, Portuguese being the largest. The Central Ward was and always will be predominantly black and the starting point of the Newark Riots of 1967. Some strongly believe that police brutality was the culprit of the event that changed Newark, NJ on that hot day in July. However, the built up emotions of mistreatment and forgetfulness of the lives of African Americans were the true cause of the Newark Riots of 1967. The deteriorated housing, high unemployment, education, a corrupt municipal government, and a lack of political set the scene for Violence.
In the Central Ward of Newark , many people became displaced by the idea of urban renewal .To many , urban renewal was rather referred to as “Negro Removal” , because of the mass amount of people who would be without a home due to this renewal. With more than 150 acres of slums cleared to accommodate what we now know as UMDNJ, highways, and downtown development of Newark became furious at this selfish gesture (Hayden 1968:6). What people couldn't understand is “How could Newark Possibly become a better place while tearing down its people?” With dilapidated housing and less than standard efforts for up-keep, moving business’ in was the only way to remodel the now deteriorating city of Newark. Many buildings such as JFK Recreation Center, UMDNJ and redeveloped townhomes now take the place of what used to be peoples’ homes. A first-hand account was taken of the new city and the change it has gone through "I don't see anything left," says Heard Hackett, former citizen of Newark (NJ.com). Being that the central ward was the starting point of the riots, it was hit the hardest July 14, 1967 , the fury of its citizens could no longer be contained and sparked a new revolution citywide and lead the way for further confrontation.
Housing slowly began to deteriorate after the shortages in housing decreased due to the influx of citizens, leaving us with nothing more than high-rise ghetto’s ,home of more than 95% African Americans.Under the administration of President Roosevelt and his passing of the Wagner-Steagall Housing Act, Newark was able to form these housing units that would accommodate those in less than standard housing than they were previously provided while providing an area to live comfortably for families with the little space that was available. Slumlords collected rent ,however, failed to perform regular maintenance, let alone improvements, to their properties. (Sternlieb 1969). Among many others , Newark has seen housing projects such as Baxter Terrace ,Christopher Columbus homes ,Court Street Apartments , Brick Towers , etc. Today, the projects, formerly known as public housing for majority of the poverty stricken blacks of Newark, are just a solid memory. With violence and infestation prevalent , it is no surprise that during the Riots of 1967 they were described as "the line between the jungle and the law might as well be drawn here as well as any place in America." by former Governor Hughes.
Newark’s Police Department was notorious for the crime and suppression to the black community due to their commitment to the white community and strong drive for wealth.Police who were mainly Italian and Irish made it their business to constantly accuse and harass their African American counterparts. According to the article anonymously written about the riots, “ In July 1965, Lester Long, aged 22, was shot and killed by police after a “routine” traffic stop(Newark Riots)”.The Disparity for equality from African American existed stronger than ever before , with no help from their promising mayor, they began to feel the great sense of insensitivity from their leaders. It is no surprise that under the administration of Hugh Addonizio, drug crimes, gambling and fraud was constant. Then 54, Addonizio was short, dumpy and balding. A Newark native, the son of a clothing manufacturer, combat veteran of World War Two, he had been elected to Congress in the Truman upset of 1948 and reelected six times. He compiled a liberal, if undistinguished, record in Washington before being elected mayor in 1962. He was reelected in 1966, but even before the riots, the Italian-Negro electoral coalition he had forged was falling apart. The shocking revelations of the DeCarlo tapes were a year away. The city of Newark as a whole was under indictment after it was discovered that safety of its citizens was being compromised as well as the mayor and other government officials taking “Kickbacks” from the contractors. Addonizio appeared before the panel on May 7, 1969. He invoked the Fifth Amendment and was brought into open court. By the year of 1970, Hugh Addonizio had been sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy and extortion. Much of the corruption became public when he was convicted, along with five others working in or through his administration, of "literally delivering the city into the hands of organized crime," according to former U.S. District Judge Herbert J. Stern
In addition, the job market in the city of Newark is in a bad state. Essex County's unemployment rate, which was reported as 11.1 percent in May, is two percent higher than the state average, which has hovered in the mid-9 percent range for more than a year, and currently stands at 9.1 percent. The higher-than-average figure in Essex County is due in part to Newark's unemployment rate of 15.9 percent. According to the city officials themselves, Newark has the highest percentage of bad housing of any city in the nation, the highest maternal mortality rate, and the second highest infant mortality rate; the unemployment rate in the ghetto is higher than 15 percent. The murky employment climate is forcing some to take jobs beneath their qualification levels, or take any job they can get to keep their health insurance. Millions of Americans are about to be dumped into the despair of poverty. With their doom comes an abrupt cutback in the economic wellbeing of businesses where they bought gas and groceries.
Before the riots, racial suspicion led local African American residents to feel powerless. Many felt that they had been excluded from meaningful political representation and often suffered police brutality. Much of the community viewed the police as the tool of more direct intimidation, harassment, and violence. Dominated by the Italians who run Newark politics, tainted by alleged underworld connections, and with a token of only 250 blacks among 1400 members, the Police Department was seen as the spearhead of organized hostility to Negro action, an armed unit protecting the privileges of the shrinking white community of the city. Unemployment and poverty were also very high with the traditional manufacturing base having been fully eroded and withdrawn from the Northeast US by 1967. Further fueling tensions was the final decision by the state of New Jersey to clear a vast tract of land in the central ward of its tenement buildings displacing thousands, to build the new University of Medicine and Dentistry facility.

Hayden, Tom. Rebellion in Newark: Official Violence and Ghetto Response. New York: Vintage Books, 1967
Urban Renewal: http://www.67riots.rutgers.edu/n_index.htm

Chernick, J.,Indik, B., and Sternlieb, G. 1967. New Jersey Population and Labor Force Characteristics, Spring 1967 Graduate School of Business, Rutgers University-Newark