Riot or Rebellion? p.3

Gov. Nelson Rockefeller A great debate followed, which continues to this day. What were the causes? Who was to blame? (See sidebar: What caused it?.)

Local media engraved the event in history as the Rochester Riots, but many in the African-American community see it differently. ³Black people riot, white people rebel,² commented Moses Gilbert, director of the Montgomery Neighborhood Center, who sees racism in the establishment's view of the event.

The Rev. Franklin Florence, an African American minister, agreed, explaining that frustrated blacks ³did it to get relief. They had a sense of accomplishing something. They'd responded to all the indignity they faced. When folks are oppressed they're not that methodical. There's no tomorrow. They call them riots. They were a rebellion.²

Riot or Rebellion?

Thirty years ago this summer, the city of Rochester erupted in a weekend of violence and mayhem that forever changed the course of race relations in the Genesee Country. Looking back through the prism of time, there are still widely differing views of what happened, and why.

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Stores on the west side are hit hard by looters who break windows and throw merchandise into the street.

Left: Gov. Nelson Rockefeller tours scene with police commandants and city officials.