Ballots and Bullets: Black Power Politics and Urban Guerrilla Warfare in 1968 Cleveland

Cleveland attorney Robenalt deconstructs the events leading to a violent 1968 confrontation between black nationalists and the Cleveland police that left three officers, three nationalists, and two civilians dead in this valuable history. Robenalt meticulously examines the larger forces that drove the 1960s black nationalism movement and the motivations and experiences of the individual black nationalists involved in the uprising. Particularly insightful are the discussions of the national debates among black people about how to improve the status of black Americans, specifically the contrast among the pacifist views of Martin Luther King, the more militant internationalist view of Malcolm X, and the even more militant view of other radical groups. Equally illuminating is Robenalt’s frank description of the inequities affecting Cleveland’s black population, which included high unemployment, a tattered relationship with the police, inadequate medical care, and animus directed at them by the city’s politicians’ and law enforcement, while one participant said, “It started over 200 years ago,” when asked why the militancy now. The moment-by-moment description of the firefight between police and black nationalists is chilling. Readers will find much to contemplate in this balanced report. [em]Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel, Goderich and Bourret. (July) [/em]