The Newark Riots of 1967 were a very extreme and terrible time in Newark, New Jersey, one of the worst in United States history. The riots pitted African-Americans and white residents, police and the National Guard. The riots were not unexpected. Tension between the city increased significantly during the 1960s, due to lack of employment for blacks, inadequate housing, police brutality, and political exclusion of blacks from government. In 1967, the Newark police force had 1,500 members, only 10 percent of whom were black. Police would stop and question African Americans for no reason other than racial profiling. The number of incidents of police brutality and deaths of Black people in police custody has increased significantly. For example, during the summer of 1965, Lester Long, 22 (shot after a traffic stop), Bernard Rich, 26 (died in a prison cell, under unexplained circumstances). Later that year, 17-year-old Walter Rich (“accidentally shot” while wanted for illegal substances). However, no police officers have ever been prosecuted and very few charges have been brought before a jury. The mayor at the time was Hugh Addonizo. He professed compassion for African Americans, but failed to appoint black leaders to his administration. For example, he appointed an Irish high school graduate, James Callaghan, to the school board, rather than Wilbur Parker, New Jersey's first black certified accountant. Newark began to deteriorate, and white residents blamed the growing African American population for Newark's situation. fall. However, one of the real culprits in Newark's decline was poor housing, lack of employment, and discrimination. Twenty-five percent of the city's housing was substandard according to Model C... middle of document ...... series of meetings held by U.S. Attorney David M. Satz. According to police, the riots left 26 dead, including 24 African-Americans. The two white victims were a police detective, who was allegedly shot by a sniper, and a firefighter, who was shot and killed while responding to an alarm on Central Avenue. Eighteen of the 26 people killed in the riot were shot by police or National Guard troops. Several people, like Eloise Spellman and Elizabeth Artis, were fatally injured in their own homes by a combination of National Guard and police bullets aimed at suspected snipers. According to the New Jersey State Police, 725 injuries (more than 1,000 according to Newark City Hospital), 1,500 arrests and $10 million in property damage. After the riots, Newark attempted to encourage racial equality. However, today housing, employment and education remain huge problems..