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The Hough riots were riots in the predominantly African-American community of Hough (pronounced "Huff") in Cleveland, Ohio, United States which took place from July 18 to 23, 1966. During the riots, four African Americans were killed and 50 people were injured. There were 275 arrests and numerous incidents of arson and firebombings. City officials at first blamed black nationalist and communist organizations for the riots, but historians generally dismiss these claims today, arguing that the cause of the Hough Riots were primarily poverty and racism. The riots caused rapid population loss and economic decline in the area, which lasted at least five decades after the riots. Beginning of the riot Hough in 1966 During the 1950s, middle-class whites largely left the neighborhood of Hough in Cleveland, Ohio, and working-class African Americans moved in. By 1966, more than 66,000 people, nearly 90 percent of them African American, lived in Hough. Most businesses in the area remained white-owned, however. Residents of the Hough neighborhood complained extensively of inferior and racially segregated public schools, poor delivery of welfare benefits, a lack of routine garbage collection, no street cleaning, and too few housing inspections. Recreational facilities in Hough were nonexistent except for minimal equipment at a few school playgrounds. Hough was a relatively small area, but the population density in the neighborhood was one of the highest in Cleveland. Housing was often substandard in Hough, with a fifth of all housing units considered dilapidated and absentee landlords (most of them white) were common. The deindustrialization of Cleveland hit the African American community hard, and unemployment was over 17 percent. Median income for black residents was just 65 percent the median income of whites. Although Hough contained just 7.3 percent of Cleveland's population, it had more than 19 percent of its welfare cases. Single mothers (half of them teenagers) bore one-third of the children in Hough in 1966, and infant mortality was twice as high as the rest of the city. High unemployment and the rapid deterioration of the neighborhood created extensive racial tension in Hough. Although the city had engaged in some urban renewal housing projects in Hough, these had displaced more people than they housed and those displaced had received little to no help in finding new housing. Moreover, failed urban renewal to the east of Hough had displaced several thousand poor families, most of whom moved into Hough. A racially segregated Cleveland Division of Police also led to interracial tension in the city. Twenty percent of Cleveland's major crimes were committed in Hough, even though it had just 7 percent of the city's population. Only 165 of Cleveland's 2,100 police officers were African American, the city routinely declined to promote black patrolmen, and the police had a reputation for exhibiting "crude racism" and ignoring the needs of the black community. The police were perceived as unwilling to enforce the law and slow to respond in black communities, and police harassment of African Americans was the norm. Subsequently, African Americans in Cleveland tended to strongly distrust the police. There had also been several incidents of brutality committed by the police in Cleveland in the last few years, which worsened the tension between the police and the city's African American citizens. In 1963 and 1964, the United Freedom Movement, a coalition of African American civil rights groups, led a nine-month protest campaign against poor-quality, racially segregated schools and racial discrimination against blacks by labor unions. Cleveland Mayor Ralph S. Locher, who was white, dismissed these concerns. This was not unusual: The political culture of Cleveland had long been dominated by the mayor, city council, big business, the larger newspapers, and a few powerful white ethnicities. The city had a long history of ignoring social ills, while favoring low taxes and small government. African American protests in the past had been small and died out swiftly, and progress (what little there was of it) was generally achieved through traditional behind-the-scenes deal-making. The school protests were Cleveland's first large, lengthy racial protests, and the failure to achieve significant progress taught the black community that negotiation and legal action produced only limited results. Although 10 of the city council's 22 members were African American, black council members were seen as too conservative and out of touch with the vast majority of Cleveland's African Americans. Start of the riot Throughout the first half of 1966, there had been a large number of incidents (such as roving gangs of youth, and rock throwing) indicating unrest in the neighborhood. In April 1966, the United States Commission on Civil Rights held hearings in Cleveland, during which time it gathered extensive evidence about employment discrimination, police brutality, poor housing, ongoing school segregation, and racism in the community. Televised locally, "the hearings revealed that the city's racial powder keg was about to explode". The Seventy-Niner's Café was a Jewish-owned bar located on the southeast corner of E. 79th Street and Hough Avenue, and popular with African American residents of the community. Seventy-Niner's suffered from a number of problems, including drug dealing, the sale of stolen goods, and prostitution, and the owners had begun barring certain individuals from the establishment. Local sex workers Margaret Sullivan and her friend, Louise (an African American), were among those who had been banned. Sullivan died on July 16, leaving three young children. On July 17, Louise attempted to leave a box at the bar so patrons could donate money for the care of Sullivan's children. The owners refused to permit the collection. Louise returned about 5 PM on Monday, July 18. The owners argued with her, allegedly using defamatory and racist language, and she was thrown out. A short while later, another racially charged incident occurred, although the exact details are unclear. In one account, one of the bar owners denied water to an African American man who had entered the bar, and then posted a sign on the door which read "No Water for Niggers". In another account, an African American man purchased a bottle of liquor in the bar, and then requested a cup of ice. One of the owners denied his request, and then posted a sign on the door which read "No water for niggers". In a third account, an African American man entered the bar and asked for a glass of water. One of the owners denied his request and told a waitress that there was "no water for niggers". This co-owner then posted a sign on the door which read "No Ice Water". In an interview with The Plain Dealer newspaper, the Feigenbaums denied being present at the bar during the incident, and denied that one of their employees had denied a man.... Discover the Estelle Hough popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Estelle Hough books.