Tampa Bay Race Riot (1967)

December 25, 2020 
/ Contributed By: Samuel Momodu

|Riot in Tampa

Members of the youth group known as the White Hats help disperse a crowd that gathered after a women was stabbed during a family argument. The White Hats

Image Courtesy: Tampa Bay Times

The Tampa Bay Race Riot was one of dozens of race riots that occurred in U.S. cities during the spring and summer of 1967. The riot took place between June 11 and June 14, 1967 after nineteen-year-old Martin Chambers who was a suspect in the robbery of a camera store in Tampa, was killed by the Tampa police. Chambers was seen running from the police near Nebraska and Harrison Streets and was shot in the back by Police Officer James Calvert. He later died. Following the incident, a riot broke out along Central Avenue.

On the afternoon of June 11 Officer Calvert pursued Chambers and two other young men who he suspected had just robbed a local photo supply store. Calvert chase Chambers and shot him, claiming that he would not stop when ordered to do so. According to newspaper accounts Calvert said he aimed for Chambersโ€™s shoulder but missed. When news of the shooting spread around the Tampa Black community, Black residents began a peaceful protest in the afternoon that turned to rioting and looting that night along Central Avenue, the heart of Tampaโ€™s local Black community. Often called the โ€œHarlem of the Southโ€ because of its many nightclubs that hosted top Black entertainers from across the nation, Central Avenue also was home to more than 100 stores, shops, and restaurants.

During the riot, arsonists specifically targeted white-owned Central Avenue businesses while a crowd of 400 rocked an occupied police car yelling โ€œKill themโ€ until police reinforcements arrived. Another 100 people surrounded the Tampa municipal bus barn and threatened to burn it to the ground.

The Tampa Bay Riot lasted three days. On June 14, 1967, Florida Governor Claude Kirk Jr. ordered 500 Florida National Guardsmen, 235 Florida High Patrol troopers, and 250 local law enforcement officers from other jurisdictions to Tampa to help Tampa and St. Petersburg police. The next day the violence ended.

A two-day investigation by the Hillsborough County District Attorneyโ€™s office declared the shooting was justified. Florida State Attorney General Paul Antinori would also claim after his office investigated the incident, that the use of deadly force against unarmed Chambers was justified because he was a known felon evading arrest. Although Chambers never experienced a trial for the camera store robbery because of his death at the hands of police, Antinori asserted that people who broke the law had to accept the risk that law enforcement would use force.

About the Author

Author Profile

Samuel Momodu, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, received his Associate of Arts Degree in History from Nashville State Community College in December 2014 and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Tennessee State University in May 2016. He received his Master of Arts Degree in history from Southern New Hampshire University in June 2019.

Momoduโ€™s main areas of research interest are African and African American History. His passion for learning Black history led him to contribute numerous entries to BlackPast.org for the last few years. Momodu has also worked as a history tour guide at President Andrew Jacksonโ€™s plantation home near Nashville, the Hermitage. He is currently an instructor at Tennessee State University. His passion for history has also helped him continue his education. In 2024, he received his Ph.D. in History from Liberty University, writing a dissertation titled The Protestant Vatican: Black Churches Involvement in the Nashville Civil Rights Movement 1865-1972. He hopes to use his Ph.D. degree to become a university professor or professional historian.

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Momodu, S. (2020, December 25). Tampa Bay Race Riot (1967). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/tampa-bay-race-riot-1967/

Source of the Author's Information:

โ€œTampa Bay Race Riot 1967,โ€ Tampa Bay Times, https://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/racism-in-tampa-boiled-over-50-years-ago-into-central-avenue-riots/2326360/; โ€œTampa Bay Race Riot 1967,โ€ Equal Justice Initiative Eji.org, On Jun 11, 1967: Police Kill Unarmed Black Teen in Tampa, Florida; Civil Unrest for Days); โ€œTampa Bay Race Riot 1967,โ€ 83 degrees media, Weโ€™ve been here before: A brief history of race relations in Tampa (83degreesmedia.com).

Further Reading