Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Asbury Park Riots of July, 1970!

The Asbury Park Riots


This summer 2010 is the 40th anniversary of what is perhaps the single most significant event in Asbury Park’s entire 217 year history. It was 7 days and nights in the summer of 1970 that changed the economic, political, social, cultural and even physical landscape of this town, forever, known simply as “The Asbury Park Riots”.

To understand what happened that summer, and why a community would turn against itself, it’s essential to understand the context. While perhaps an easy question – the answer is not.

What we do know is that:

It was 1970 - Riots, especially race riots, were a regular part of the evening news. These included the 1969 York Race Riots in York Pennsylvania and perhaps most importantly, the “Long Hot Summer of 1967” with race riots in: Tampa, Huston, Detroit, Buffalo, Minneapolis, Newark, and Plainfield. Racial tension was simply part of the national lexicon.

At the local, state and national level, African-American leaders had been advocating for education, job training, recreation and drug programs for youth – for years. And most of those had gone un-met. And things were no different in Asbury Park.

In October of 1970, The Christian Science Monitor would do a story where they reported that “Black teenagers were particularly angry that day, apparently over what they deemed to be discrimination in the lucrative summer job market along the beaches. White kids from far off towns, rather than local blacks were snagging the most pleasant and highest paying jogs in the resort, hotel, restaurant and water front concessions”. It went on to say that “Here were young people apparently ready and eager to work, the sons and daughters of blacks who, in past years had been specifically brought to Asbury Park to work at a wide range of jobs in the hotels and restaurants. Why in the name of all that’s wise and right, should they not have been given the good, satisfying, lucrative jobs”?

There were reportedly over 700 applications for just 246 jobs available at The Neighborhood Youth Corps. Compared with over twice that many jobs available, the year before.

With the temperature in the high 90’s, no jobs, no hope for jobs, no recreation programs, and no real indication that city fathers were listening to their concerns – the west side youth were frustrated, angry and most likely feeling a sense of hopelessness. Once the fighting started, it was most likely those feelings of anger and hopelessness that fuled it even farther.

The trouble started when a group of young people started breaking some windows after a youth dance at the West Side Community Center on the night of July 4th. The violence increased in intensity, and scope over the course of the next 7 nights. While extensive and far reaching, the rioting and damage was essentially limited to the major entertainment, business and retail district of the Springwood Ave, on the west side of Main St. Before it was all over, there would be over $4 million in property damage, 167 arrests, 165 injured, 15 police injured, and countless of families made homeless.

Monday, July 6th was a day of fire bombs and looting. A prime target was a department store on Springwood Ave. Long under white ownership, the business had just recently been sold to another white man who had quite publically outbid a black man.

That day, the rioting increased significantly and Police Chief Thomas S. Smith called in officers from surrounding communities to assist. Mayor Joseph F. Mattice declared a state of emergency and later that day ordered a curfew from 10:00 pm to 6: 00 am. The curfew was to remain in effect for the next three days and it applied to the entire town of Asbury Park as well as the neighboring township of Neptune.

The New York Times quoted the Mayors reaction to the violence as “We’ve been very, very fortunate it’s stayed where it has. Our business area hasn't been affected at all”. An unfortunate, but telling statement, because the reality was – the entire west side business district (the ENTIRE black business district) was indeed being “affected”. It was in fact, being burned down, looted and destroyed!

On Tuesday morning, West Side community leaders presented a list of twenty demands to the City Council. Two additional demands would be added during the following days. Many of those demands addressed the real root of what caused the problems in the first place, and they included things like: “Immediate employment of 100 youths from the west side, creation of a Recreation Commission, appointment of a black person to the Board of Education, A Narcotics Program, black representation on the Federal Housing Authority, a police review board and dismissal of a municipal judge.

The New York Times reported that after talks broke down late Tuesday night, more fighting erupted, and this time the mobs pushed across the railroad tracks and went three blocks into the “east” side. State police quickly forced the fighting crowds back but that night, 46 people were treated for gunshot wounds, the oldest being 75, and the youngest being 14.

By Wednesday morning, the west side was essentially burned down, destroyed and looted. Unable to depend on City Fathers for help – the community pulled together and relied on each other. They created “Citizen Peace Patrols”. These groups started walking the streets, encouraging people to observe the imposed curfews. Churches and community groups took in and housed the homeless. Some for extended periods of time. The State Police, who had been called in the day before – continued to remain on the west side (in their riot gear and helmets) throughout the evening.

On Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Willam T. Cahill toured the West Side and requested that President Richard Nixon declare Asbury Park a major disaster area. All day Wednesday and Thursday negotiations between west side community leaders and the city council continued – but the demands continued to go unanswered.

That night, Howard K. Smith came on the ABC evening news and announced to the world that “the seaside town of Asbury Park had become a battleground of rioting”. While the two minute and twenty-three second story focused mostly on the impact the fighting had had on the beach front economy, it nonetheless put Asbury Park in the national spotlight. Asbury Park had just joined the dubious list of “national riots for 1970” and things would never be the same.

Slow progress on the city’s part prompted west side leading spokesman Willie Hamm to announce on Friday that further communication would be halted until the city council addressed the community’s demands. Talks resumed later that day and by Friday evening West Side leaders and the city council came to terms, and all the demands were at least minimally addressed.


78 comments:

Paul Church said...

Very interesting

WinterBV said...

Mark, thanks very much for posting a history of these events. A young friend of mine is very interested in discovering the facts surrounding the racial tension of the 70s because she feels her education glosses over recent history and she wants to delve deeper. Your article certainly provides the information forming a part of what can only be referred to as "telling the truth."

Linnea said...

Thank you for this post! WHat are ome of the source you used? I'd be very interested to see what those have to say also. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

This the first account of the events that happened that Summer that I have seen that was honest coming from the area itself. Now it has been forty years and the area of the Springwood Ave is still open field despite the attempt of changing name to Lake Ave, as if that would erase the history.

Anonymous said...

I was down on Cookman Ave shopping when the state police were in riot gear.. we got out on a bus back to Belmar.. My father had a fit and couldn't get into the city because they didn't let any one down Main Street and he knew we were down there shopping. The bus was the only vehicle that was allowed our of the city toward Belmar.. I remember it because it was scary seeing a mass of blue shirts with men in riot gear lining the railroad tracks by Springwood ave.

Anonymous said...

My dad is Dell Wade, the ABC newsman who was beaten by state and local police while reporting on police brutality during the riots. The police beat him mercilessly, took his audio recorder, and made him out to be a "riot inciter". A sign of the times, he was left in a "he said, they said" situation where he was forced to defend his claims with no proof to a dubious public who were of course steeped in racism and unwilling to consider his report as fact. I was always fascinated by his telling of the story.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your article. I use to work as a teacher in Asbury Park and wonder how did a beautiful resort town turn into such a scary place. It's so sad.

Linda Sobel Zisman said...

My father owned "West Side Drugs" on Springwood and Atkins Avenue for many years. "Doc Sobel". He sold out in the late 60's due to ill health. He only had black pharmacists working there for many, many years. I was too young and not in the area to know of the unrest in the 70's. it's sad for me, here in Asbury for a visit to "return to my youth" to find his corner so changed. The new senior building is wonderful and modern. I hope only the best for the "west side" as I had many wonderful memories of working the ice cream counter when my father took me to work with him for a day. I had many fun times visiting with the customers when they came into the store. Lots of luck in changing the "poor" image of Springwood Avenue for the better. I surely hope the city continues with the revitalization. It's a good start. Next to demolish the old "Turf bar" and better the housing in the area. I heard of the urban renual" several years ago. What a pleasant surprise to see the progress. A lot of work to go. "Go Asbury".
Linda Sobel Zisman

Linda Sobel Zisman said...

Forgot to post under my name, Linda Sobel Zisman
Denton, Texas

Anonymous said...

Living in the area at that time, I remember going Fiches (sp) Dept. Store for clothing. I wonder if that was the dept. store referenced in the article?

RobertV said...

Now I see why Asbury Park has become what it is today. I am only 32 and I love Asbury Park!!!! I love the history of the city and the scenery it has to offer! I keep finding out new things about Asbury Park and this is one of the things! I knew race riots were happening all over New Jersey in the 70's but I never knew it happened in Asbury Park. To me Asbury Park is a diamond in the rough!

Anonymous said...

I visited Asbury Park in 1991 while on a trip to Fort Monmouth. I took a side trip to Asbury Park out of curiosity because of the boardwalk and Bruce Springstein history that was there. It was like a ghost town and very dirty. I returned this past weekend April of 2013 and could not believe what i experienced. The downtown has been yuppie-fied and very nice. The boardwalk has a ways to go but like a miracle from 22 years ago. Good luck to Asbury Park on the road to recovery!

bosco said...

I remember it well

Unknown said...

Mark well written! I was 13 and living on First Ave, it seems like yesterday.

Unknown said...

I had 3 great aunts and uncles living between Asbury ave. and Sunset Ave. They were not able to tell me this much about it. Thank you for your account

Anonymous said...

A fictional character in Philip Roth's novel "Sabbath's Theater", Mickey Sabbath supposedly worked in the ladies' shoes department of Levin's Department Store and mentions shoe stores on Cookman Avenue. And he mentions the riots. Your article fills in the background of what he was talking about. Sabbath could be seen as "morally challenged" in certain ways but he has a love for the beach and for the beach towns along the Jersey Shore that redeems him somewhat and makes the point that Asbury Park and the Jersey Shore beach towns are probably beloved by many more people than anyone might initially imagine.

Anonymous said...

Great article. My family vacationed every year in Bradley Beach. We were there during the riots. I was nine years old and remember that we didn't go to the Board Walk. I remember being young and afraid. I visited Asbury this summer for the first time in 35 years. I was surprised how devastated the area became. I also saw how the city is re building. Your article shed light on the cultural problems of the day. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
I do believe The store in question was "Fishes Department Store". Outside of Cookman Avenue, it was one of the main clothing/shoe stores on the Springwood Avenue on the Westside. Also, don't quote me on this but I believe it was Mr. Carl Williams (owner of Mr. Fashions, on Cookman Avenue),who worked at "Fishes" for many years...who was the interested party in buying the Department Store before it was sold to another white person.

Anonymous said...

My grandfather Mr. Pzrham had a rooming house and own other property on springwood avenue back in the day. And at the time of the riots I was 13. I remember my mother going down to the streets and telling us we could not go with her because we might get hurt. My big brother went down anyway afrer she left and one of my sisters friends was shoot in the back by police.

Yes I remember

Anonymous said...

I decided to look this up because I have seen comments on an Asbury blog that said people were bussed in and they caused the riots. I was there and my friend was called in from the national guard with his buddies to assist the state police etc. It was Fisch's department store that has been referred to in posts. It is true that white kids from North Jersey and New York got those summer jobs on the boardwalk. Thinking about that now makes me sad. I never knew these facts before if they are accurate I would have liked to see the sources that the author used to write this article as referred to by a post. Although this seemed to be a problem in Asbury Park it did not seem that there was any racist problems at Asbury Park where I went to the year before the riots. Perhaps my eyes were not wide open but I never saw this at school. There was discrimination at several beach clubs as I experienced it myself (caucasian) being there with my sister and a friend from Springwood avenue area. The police told us we would have to leave the beach. My sister was so upset she cursed the cop. I went to the Asbury diner with my black male friend and I could not believe the nasty looks we got besides the fact that we were considered hippies. There was a lot of discrimination against hippy teenager's at that time. My family had to pretend to be Jewish in order to get a room at a place in the catskills. When I look back at the documentaries of that time and Martin Luther King I cannot believe how backwards and ignorant the racist attitude was in the country. As a kid I did not watch the news. There is so much prejudice today in other area's now about how people choose to live and love.I visited Asbury Park a few years ago and yes cookman avenue area has spruced up but seems to be all restaurants and very expensive rents. As far as I am concerned I was fortunate to live in Asbury at the best time before 1970. I also remember that Asbury started going down again when some famous people were going to make Asbury Park more interesting. What happened? Some dispute or withdrawal of funds left that huge crane in the middle of the street next to the boardwalk and I believe it sat there for a long time and the project was not completed. This is when I saw Asbury deteriorate. Canadian store closed down property on Main street across from Steinbeck's was being sold for $40,000 I believe.I kept thinking this seems to be the only beach front property along the shore that was in shambles. That is my 2 cents.Christine

Anonymous said...

I was 12 that summer. We lived in Belmar and could see the smoke from the fires from our yard. I also had an Asbury Park Press paper route and of course that was the main topic of news for weeks.

I remember riding down main street with my parents about a week after things got back to quiet. Lots of burned out buildings.

Anyone who knew Asbury Park before the riots know that the city has changed totally. They talk about it coming back but for decades it simply wallowed in self-pity. I don't care about local entertainment hero's, but Asbury Park is just not that nice.


Many of my friends from Belmar were forced to go to Asbury Park High School. Lucky for me I was able to attend Manasquan but several times a year I would go to Asbury Park HS to help the HS band with their concerts. It was weird because we (a few band members from Manasquan) were asked to help but not one of the APHS band members had even one kind word or hint of appreciation for our efforts. This was from 1972-1976 time frame.

Today, while improved, Asbury Park is dysfunctional in the main and will probably always be so.

Anonymous said...

I lived one block from the riot and it was something that at my age you will never forget, I talk about it to my grown children and grand children and they cant believe something like that happened it Asbury Park. So glad to see new buildings and different things is taking place in the city

Anonymous said...

yes they did,they through him threw the meat market window I saw them do it

Anonymous said...

Wow I don't know where you got your info but I was there,first of all the reason the east side business didn't get destroyed was because they were shooting people who tried to cross main st.They brought in racist state troopers who were brutal.things happened before the community center.It was crazy I was there when we destroyed the westside drug store.that corner kicked it off I remember that nite like it was yesterday

Mike McMahon said...

Yes, not one mention of police brutality in this article. I'm sure Mark means well, but the story I received from my parents, who were there, was that there was a series of incidents of police brutality, one against my father and his friends, that led to the riots. I guess some things never change. We're always pushed to the point of desperation in a biased and criminal justice system, then painted as animals that riot for no good reason.

Anonymous said...

I lived west of Asbury Park near Collingwood Auction. I could see the smoke which is close to 10 miles away. I got in my car and went down there. I was on the street that was just north of Springwood Ave. where all the trouble was happening. I went east and wound up at the intersection of Main Street and Springwood Ave. WOW police cars and police everywhere. SCAREY

Anonymous said...

I also lived one block from riots I was 8 years old and saw the tanks come down grand ave and was so scared and thought I was going to be killed but now I understand why this all happen and it was fair we should all be treated equal

Anonymous said...

Meant to say it was not fair we should all be treated equal in getting jobs

Unknown said...

Yes the animals burned that down along with Bankers Furniture and everything else in sight

Unknown said...

It was Carl who taught me how to dress st age 14

Unknown said...

There were no tanks anywhere that is a crock of bullshit. And yes they did not get passed east of Main Street. A lot of residents were armed and ready if they did and they made it public how they would react if they came into their neiborhoods

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the history. I was 5 years old and at the 7th avenue pool the day the riots began. My father, a fireman in Wanamassa looked at the smoke in the sky and said we need to get home now. The days that followed were frightening. My father went to into Asbury Park and help fight the fires. The fire engines had wood covering the windows so they would not get broken. The olive green military trucks would go zooming down Sunset Avenue past my house towards Asbury Park. As I watch the news today it so sad to see history repeating itself. Haven't we learned from our mistakes? Praying for peace and equality for all.

Chicks in the City said...

When I watch the news reports coming out of Baltimore I can't help but remember standing at the barricade to Springwood Ave. I remember watching the smoke still raising from the buildings days after.
When I was born my parents owned a home on Monroe Ave in Whitesville a small neighborhood connected to Asbury Park.One of our neighbors owned a small store in that area. They were African American.
I would go with my Mother to shop in Springwood Ave.area. Asbury Park was a big part of my growing up. I my eyes as child is was somewhat magical. The swan boats, boardwalk and the downtown at Christmas etc.
Now it struggles to this day to overcome the scars left behind.
I understand social injustice. Power used over others to control. But when do we gain anything by destroying the very place in which we live.There was mention that jobs could not be gotten by the black youth.So they got angry and rioted. How many jobs and business were lost making that statement with violence? A place left in ruins never to return. What is the answer to our social ills and we have many I do not know. But surely this is not it.

Anonymous said...

yes they did get east of Main St. because my father's insurance agency had all of its huge windows broken by rocks. I have one of the rocks in my home with the date 7/7/70 painted on it. The office was on the corner of Bond St. and Mattison Ave. now a law office, much smaller windows.

Unknown said...

Thank you very much for your comments regarding anything I wrote that readers remember differently. This was an EXTREMELY difficult article to research. What little written history there is - it's very difficult to find. Someone mentioned something earlier about no mention of police brutality. I sure there was - a lot, probably. But again, no written accounts or photos that I was able to locate. Please feel free to email me details at AsbuyParkMarkPics@gmail.com with ANY additional information. I'm always very interested to speaking with first hand witnesses and family members.

Anonymous said...

Did Anyone stop to think that if people weren't doing anything wrong or illegal they wouldn't be subject to the possibility of police brutality?

I support the police for taking whatever means necessary to protect the great majority of people that aren't breaking the law

Anonymous said...

Its simple and still true today. In all cities in NJ with high numbers of minorities there are very few opportunities. There are very few banks, very few supermarkets. I would also like to see a multi national company headquarter themselves in a city such as Trenton. That would create opportunities for the people there.

Sharon/Mairead said...

So do I. I was there. I was a stupid teenager and did not realize at the time the long history of racism in AP that had to erupt sometime.

Sharon/Mairead said...

Yes.

Sharon/Mairead said...

No, you are wrong. Why people were doing stuff has to do with the racial discrimination and inequality that had to be expressed, this still is happening to day. Don't gloss it over.

Sharon/Mairead said...

No, you are wrong. Why people were doing stuff has to do with the racial discrimination and inequality that had to be expressed, this still is happening to day. Don't gloss it over.

Sharon/Mairead said...

Yes.

Anonymous said...

True accounts ? Maybe ! But isn't it convenient that there was no mention of the Black Panthers arriving with bus after bus, loaded with Protestors and Rioters.

Marcia Mandel said...

I worked in Asbury Park on Cookman Ave near the corner of Main Streeet at a coffee/espresso house that was open until 2 am and was about 18 at the time. I remember being scared that I was surrounded by all this violence, but too young and naive and too much of a hippy to really understand the meaning of it. I spent one night trapped at the coffee house all night, and didn't understand why the blacks were destroying their own black community and really did not cross the railroad tracks and burn the white section. My family used to shop on Springwood Avenue and I was so sad to see it destroyed. My mother lived in Asbury for many years afterwards and I watched the decline of the boardwalk and retail area over the years. I was raised in Wanamassa and our big event as young teenagers was to ride the # 31 (?) bus from there to downtown to shop at Steinbach's and Woolworth's and have lunch at the Newberry's counter. Before the riots, Asbury Park was the absolute best place to grow up and it broke my heart to see it destroyed. Several years later, I moved my handicapped mother out of state for her own safety, but stopped back to visit every few years and was dismayed to see it never returned to the "big" city I remembered with all the stores on Cookman Avenue closed and boarded up for years. I have heard how much it has come back now, but it will never be the idelic place I remember from my youth. Thanks for reporting what I didn't understand at the time.

Anonymous said...

The post stated to be by Dell Wade's son is Bullcrap. His case went to the U.S Supreme Court where it was upheld. He was then fired by WABC channel 7 in NY.

Unknown said...

Thank you

Anonymous said...

I lived in Asbury Park my entire life up until I was 18 and moved away. I went to Asbury Park High School, and I attended the Middle School on the "other side of the tracks". Asbury was always thought of in terms of the "good side" and "the other side of the tracks" which was predominantly black. Children who live with in the city limits had to walk to school so, when we went to the middle school, over on Prospect Ave, we had to walk. The kids who came from better homes had parents who would drive them otherwise we walked and it was not a good situation. Often bullied, in school and on the way to school, mostly because I was white and small, it made my life more of a hell than it already was. I came from an abusive alcoholic family, and Asbury Park with bars on every corner didn't make it any better. Once in high school it became even worse, the high school also predominantly black, I was subject to terrible bullying and abuse at school. There was just no relief anywhere in Asbury Park. My friends from there have nostalgic fond memories of Asbury, more in their head than actual reality, I think. Life sucked there. I hate Asbury Park, when it became a waste land prior to "gays" buying up the properties and trying to revive it. I believe what it became,an abandoned drug infested, boarding home and halfway house mecca, it was showing the true soul of Asbury Park. A 1 mile square little town, full of hate.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for that. The agitation brought in burned the west side down. Think, why would black business destroy their own great places

Unknown said...

The article leaves a lot out. Like how the blacks started ganging up and trying to beat up on the white kids at Asbury Park High School. How the Black Panthers were bussing rioters in. How the Black Panthers were inciting the Riots. It was much deeper than the article says. The blacks destroyed the West Side and Eventually destroyed the East Side making Asbury Park a drug invested Ghetto.
Tell the whole truth, not just part of it like there were no jobs for blacks in the summer. Bullshit. I lived there.

Unknown said...

The article leaves a lot out. Like how the blacks started ganging up and trying to beat up on the white kids at Asbury Park High School. How the Black Panthers were bussing rioters in. How the Black Panthers were inciting the Riots. It was much deeper than the article says. The blacks destroyed the West Side and Eventually destroyed the East Side making Asbury Park a drug invested Ghetto.
Tell the whole truth, not just part of it like there were no jobs for blacks in the summer. Bullshit. I lived there.

Anonymous said...

Rioting for a good reason?! thats asinine!

Anonymous said...

Why would a national company headquarter itself in Trenton the high crime rate would scare any normal person regardless of race away.

Anonymous said...

It was Your white privilige that got you bullied..

Anonymous said...

You can never tell the truth if it involves anything liberals don't like, like black on white racism, violence and intolerance ... Only white people can be bad, blacks are poor victims of white racism no natter what they do its not their fault, thats why self respecting whites are leaving the democratic party in droves!

b.f. said...

Recently posted video of a public domain historical protest folk song about this July 1970 Asbury Park historical event, "The Asbury Park Rebellion," on youtube protestfolk channel at following link, that might interest readerw, which has following lyrics:

A protest folk song about the July 1970 street protest and youth rebellion for summer jobs by African-American youth in Asbury Park, New Jersey, that was brutally repressed by local police and New Jersey state troopers.
(lyrics)
(chorus)
The Asbury Park Rebellion
In the Summer of '70
Suburban whites played music
While cops suppressed Black dreams.

(verses)
Demanding summer jobs
African-American youth rebelled
For Asbury Park's tourist trade
Failed to hire them.
The white merchants made money
From the crowds who came to swim
In the ocean by the beach
Who filled restaurants and inns. (chorus)

On the West side of Asbury Park
Seven hundred youths want jobs
But only 246
Can be hired with Youth Corps funds.
Yet white kids from other towns
Are recruited by the white merchants
To staff their boardwalk businesses
And resort hotels and restaurants. (chorus)

So after a July 4th dance
The Asbury Park Rebellion began
And white-owned Springwood Avenue stores
Had some windows broken.
The mayor then called his cops
Led by a puppet chief
And 150 state police arrived
Who brutally cleared the streets. (chorus)

One thousand youths marched downtown
After 5 p.m. on July the 7th
And trashed the stores on Main Street
As the state troopers fired their weapons.
Cops used tear gas and shotguns
And clubbed women with their nightsticks
And fired into apartment windows
When they occupied the West Side district. (chorus)

State police held machine guns
On the streets of Asbury Park
And their shotgun pellets wounded
Over 90 folks in the dark.
Fourteen were taken with gunshot wounds
To Jersey Shore Hospital
And 160 were arrested
And some claimed that 4 were killed. (chorus)

A town curfew was imposed
Yet Concerned Citizens made 22 demands
Like more jobs for local youth
More housing and a police review board.
Jersey's suburban whites
Play music still when they're old
But how Asbury Park's Revolt was crushed
Remains a tale untold. (chorus)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG67n_BMLok

Unknown said...

I remember seeing the smoke from my house in Sunshine Village and watching it on the news

Unknown said...

I remember seeing the smoke from my house in Sunshine Village and watching it on the news

Unknown said...

Used to go to Asbury Park every summer in the 50's and 60's with my Grandmother. We stayed in rooming houses/hotels with a bathroom down the hall! It was a paradise for a young child. The boardwalk, the casino, the swans all magical. When I was older I learned that Asbury Park beaches were segregated and the bubble was popped on my illusions.

Unknown said...

Used to go to Asbury Park every summer in the 50's and 60's with my Grandmother. We stayed in rooming houses/hotels with a bathroom down the hall! It was a paradise for a young child. The boardwalk, the casino, the swans all magical. When I was older I learned that Asbury Park beaches were segregated and the bubble was popped on my illusions.

anonymous said...

The truth hurts. I lived it, too in another city during the sane era. I even know southern whites who lived, it too. Black on white racism did indeed exist during that Era. I don't know if it still exists because I've made sure to stay out of situations which may subject me again to the abuse I endured which forced my parents and I to give up a nice apartment and move into two rooms for double the rent and less services. It was worth it to get away from the constant harassment. In my case my family was mistaken for Jewish so anti semetic feelings were also involved. I know if I ever wrote about my experiences nobody would touch it. It's all one way.

beach goer. said...

I'm from Bismarck N D when I moved out here in 1994 I asked my wife, she is from here , to show me Asbury Park, cause I had heard so much about it, she replied by saying" why"? when she took me there I was in shock it's such a shame such a beautiful place got burned down and what have u because people are racist.

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Anonymous said...

I was about 11 during the riots. I lived in a segregrated town called Brielle about 8 miles north of Asbury. I believe my family (I am white) was the only one that was best friends with a black family. My brother hung in Asbury, he was 17, and I remember him talking about the race riots on Springwood Ave. White's were warned to stay away from that part of AP, even after the riots. I hate bigotry. It's ridiculus to hate someone because of the color of their skin and not not taking the time to now them for their inner beauty. It is fair to protest the poorer quality of life that the government allows minorities to live by. Now I have 4 bi-racial children and it sickens me to see them get treated differently because of their skin color, yes still in 2017. Whites to this day do not understand that there is racial profiling. I still have many friends in the AP area, to this day I am advised to not drive on Springwood because I am white. It saddens me because to know that there is still tension in that area. Black, white, red, yellow, brown we need to come together as one people. I had job where I had to walk thru the projects in Camden, NJ after dark, 6 nights a week and the only thing that ever happened to me was a guy asked me for a cigarette. Fear is what motivates violence...

Unknown said...

I was 21, an Army wife, with no job prospects (nobody wanted to hire military spouses as we were not "permanent") on the day the riots actually went ballistic. I had been hired as a waitress at the Empress Motel. My first table of 4 didn't even stay for their salad when we simultaneously heard the announcement that the town was under curfew and watched several buses full of what turned out to be Blank Panther supporters unload in the parking lot just west of the hotel. A number of GI's from Monmouth were almost prevented from coming into town where their families were because they could not prove they lived here. The motel manager wanted to house us in the rooms that had been abandoned by frightened New Yorkers since we were not allowed on the streets. But my husband, after being cleared by the National Guard, with headlights out, tailed a police car as far as the hotel, insisted I come home, and we snuck home to our rooming house. It was hot and very eerie to be the only car on the road (luckily it was only 3 blocks). At the time we all knew the situation would not have flared into a full fledge riot without those buses. Just like today. Controversy is easy to manipulate so unwitting folks are being stirred up.

Unknown said...

Who in the heck would want to burn & destroy their own town?!!!! Martin Luther King did not operate in this manner nor would he ever approve of this! And he got more accomplished for civil rights than any other leader!

Unknown said...

Mr. Fashion, “For the man who cares“. He was cool

Anonymous said...

My father owned a small hotel a few blocks from the beach. Business died after the riots and he lost the hotel. I was a student at APHS and somehow unaware of the problems facing the black community. I don't remember any particular problems between black and white students although students from Deal dominated the few college prep classes available.

Unknown said...

johnny cash

Anonymous said...

i remember going the shore from north jersey every summer...i was thirteen in 1970. we used to go to asbury on a day trip and play pinball, skee ball, ride the bumper cars and go to the convention center...after the riots, we never went again. my father did not want to bring the family there any more because he said it wasn't safe. whether it was true or not, that's why asbury park died. i was there in the 80's several times and again in the 90's, but it was like a ghost town.

Anonymous said...

I just moved down the ‘shore’ the summer of ‘68 At 14 I had already experienced the riots in Jersey City. So it seemed to follow me to Asbury. Some of the ‘bad ass whites that I knew took pleasure in the violence in Asbury. I was no peace-nik by any stretch, but I listened to MLK on March of ‘68 at a AME Church on the corner in Jersey City. I liked what I heard. So it wasn’t black vs. white for me , it was stupid vs. stupid violent idiots wasting everything.

Unknown said...

I cant comment only reply..the store referred to was my grandparents..i spent alot of time in that store with the majority black employees who were more family to me then my own..til this day those employees have nothing but wonderful things to say about being employed by my grandparents..1 has a custom mens suit store on cookman today and says his life wouldnt have been the same without them...i have a much greater understanding for the anger..i was devistated to be on the 8th floor of monroe towers to watch the city burn..i knew..i was 10 that my grandparents store was on fire...i have no room in my life for prejudice...we are people typically a little broken ..i just wish there had been a better solution...til this day ..i love those people..i wouldnt know familynif i didnt get pushed on them...my grandfather worked himself sick to build that department store..they were heart broken

TigerWoodsGuy said...

I delivered beer for Miller High Life my route was Springwood Ave, Asbury Park. I knew all the bar owners and they were great one of my best friends was Big Bill. He and his wife Dottie were wonderful and I saw his business burn along with many others, it was very sad, I was brought up correctly and never judged anyone because of the color of their skin.

Anonymous said...

This week is the 50th anniversary of the riots, and so I did a Google search once again. I came across this thread and forgot I had participated in it back in 2011. After reading through the comments since my own, let me just say: To the gentleman on January 11, 2016 at 11:00 AM who commented that I as newsman Dell Wade's son was incorrect about the events of July 7, 1970, let me first say that after having seen police behavior these past three months around the country, you know darn well my dad was beaten up by overzealous police. Back in 1970 the public tended to believe in and side with the police. Today we see, with the use of technology (smart phones), the truth about abuse and highly suspect policing and anti-riot techniques is in easy supply. That day in 1970, my dad as well had the truth on his side via his audio recorder, but it "mysteriously" disappeared upon his arrest, with the police feigning ignorance.

And second, you said his case went to the Supreme Court, that he was found guilty, and he was fired from ABC? I could only shake my head upon reading that because you are either putting on a master class in cluelessness or you are intentionally lying. Neither of those are good. The FACT is that the charge he was brought up on was "molestation of and interference with police". He paid a $200 fine and the whole thing was wrapped up by October of 1970, and all in local court. He then spent six more years at ABC before moving over to WWOR, where he worked for another four years.

I look forward to reading your response ten years from now when I revisit this page in honor of the riot's 60 year anniversary. ; )

Unknown said...

I was born in Neptune and we lived like gypsies living in nearly all of the many little Jersey Shore Towns, but Asbury Park was home ground due to important relatives residing there for many years. I was about 21 when these riots occurred. I remember machine guns on top of Woolworth's. I was working NYC and commuted at that time to Bradley Beach and they made us shut all the blinds and get on the floor on the Jersey Shore commuter trains and for a while they went through Asbury at a very fast speed and they did not stop at Asbury Stations. As I said I mostly grew up there and had wonderful times as child on the boardwalk, the Palace and I was fascinated by movies. I lived in all of the very many theaters there, but none were like the Mayfair Theater, a magical place to me in my childhood. They fought to make it a national landmark, but they failed and it's destruction was a horror for me. The long time home of my relatives was at 708 Sewall Ave. It was heartbreaking seeing that old three story home get the wrecking ball.It was sold to the then YMCA next door for a parking lot expansion. Asbury Park was destroyed during that time and it turned into a scary place to go so I stopped as there was nothing but sadness & destruction there. I remember being bewildered why if they wanted the west land, why did they destroy it. I did not return until 2005 and saw a town in recovery at last. Still had a ways to go, but maybe by now it's nice again, but it will never be what it was in the 50's and 60's for me. I grew up there, I came out there, among other things. When I was very young and unerage I was kinda taken under the wing of Maggie, the owner of the Chez Elle. Mighty interesting times for a young man in a very small town full of theaters, gay bars and gay people. Those Aunts I mentioned also managed the Asbury Hudson Hotel for awhile and I practically lived in the M&K, but the first one on one level. I met the love of my life there, so if you are reading this, Jim Grygotis, I never met another that got to me like you did. Thanks for the memories.

FearlessLdr said...

Yes, the rioters came east of the railroad tracks. My godfather, Sam Banker, had just taken delivery of a large amount of furniture for a pending sales event. There was a huge safe in which I would play when I was a child. The six-story building that was Banker's Furniture burned to the ground. The fire was so hot that safe was never found. Because the fire was the result of civil unrest, the insurance companies refused to cover the loss of the inventory or the building. The biggest bite-in-the-tuchas? Sam had to pay for the emergency demolition ordered by the authorities! May Sam and Ellie Banker rest in peace and may your memory be a blessing.

Anonymous said...

Do you remember coming back to Belmar if there was a white man standing outside the police line trying to talk the protesters from entering the city?

Bill B. said...

Not sure why I am being asked this, but no, I don't. Living in Belmar is actually the earliest memory I have and I lived there off and on throughout my childhood, but I wasn't there during the riots that I recall. I visited Belmar when I last visited in 2005. A lot hadn't changed which was kind of nice. I looked at pics recently of Asbury Park. It has revived, but it's an entirely different kind of community than when I grew up there. It's another Jersey Shore town, but it's not any kind of resort destination. As I grow older, I actually wouldn't mind at all moving back to the Jersey Shore to spend the rest of my life, but I need to win the lottery to afford it! Ocean Grove does not look like it has changed much at all, but you can't go home again.

Anonymous said...

Did you deliver to tony aldarelli store