NBC’s Meet the Press was filmed in Detroit on Sunday, July 30, 1967 and Cavanagh was the guest answering questions about the riots.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Tone plays for the first two minutes of the video)
Bill Matney, of NBC News, asked Cavanagh why this happened in Detroit. Cavanagh said that it was more than just a local problem. He said that the city was confronted by thousands of people that felt alienated from society.
Martin Hayden of the Detroit News asked about an incident in which a police inspector in charge of two squads said the politicians were holding police back from effective control of crowds. Cavanagh denied the allegations.
“I don’t know of any politicians, downtown or anyplace else, that gave any kind of instructions to our police officers,” Cavanagh said.
Haynes Johnson of the Washington Star Syndicate asked about the chances of similar riots across the country. Cavanagh said that Congress was indifferent to the issues that many Americans faced.
“What will it profit this country if we, say, put a man on the moon by 1970 and at the same time you can’t walk down Woodward Avenue in this city without some fear of violence,” Cavanagh said. “We may be able to pacify every village in Vietnam over a period of years but what good does it do if we can’t pacify the American cities.”
John Steele of Time-Life asked if more money were available to the city for programs to help the people of Detroit, would the riots have happened. Cavanagh said that unfortunately funds may have made a difference. He said that the government should be able to provide the opportunity for employment.
Matney asked about the redevelopment of the city and how civil rights would be addressed.
“Underneath the surface, this was in fact a race riot and a race revolution,” Cavanagh said. “It is our plan to involve as best we can some kind of participation, as full as we can get it, from the residents of the neighborhoods involved.”
FULL STORY: 'Six Days in July' coverage of the 1967 Detroit riots
GALLERY: AP photos from the Detroit riots
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