Aug. 14, 1964 - Gangs of Negroes threw firebombs and stones again last night and early today at anyone who dared to enter their neighborhood in Paterson, N.J.
The police, using flying squads of patrolmen and a truck with searchlights, contained most of the violence to street corners in isolated portions of the city.
It was the third night of trouble in Paterson, where Mayor Frank X. Graves Jr. has promised to counter violence with violence. The Mayor last night banned public gatherings in the densely populated Negro neighborhood in order to contain what he called “the worst hoodlums that man ever conceived.”
Mayor Graves, who toured the area of violence last night, personally arrested a Negro man who was in the act of throwing a bottle at an automobile.
In Elizabeth, 20 miles to the south, 200 policemen patrolled the waterfront area after two nights of rioting. A group of Negroes tossed gasoline bombs at passing automobiles, including police cars. There were a number of arrests.
Two policemen in Paterson were injured. The police said 43 persons had been arrested there, including several white men. Most of them were booked as disorderly persons. At least 12 juveniles were detained.
In Paterson, the violence broke out at about 8:55 p.m. An ABC-TV crew had set up its camera and sound equipment near the intersection of Bridge and Governor Streets and was preparing to film a report for the 11 o’clock news show.
The television newsmen planned to say that all was quiet in Paterson. But a bottle filled with gasoline crashed to the pavement between two of the crewmen and burst into flames.
After that, violence continued sporadically into the night.
There were few stores windows left for the rioters to break. Instead, the streets of the Negro neighborhood seemed to be forests of freshly nailed plywood. Some merchants used old doors to cover their windows.
Mayor Graves said last night that he believed the rioting in Paterson was swinging votes toward Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate for President.
“White sentiment seems to be solidifying in the community,” Graves remarked. He said he had talked with many white citizens since the trouble started and that a significant number of them were “saying forthrightly that they are going for Goldwater.”
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Comments