A Fiery Unrest: Why Plymouth Avenue Burned by Nancy Rosenbaum
During the summer of 1967, Plymouth Avenue in North Minneapolis went up in flames. This was a period which would become known as the Long Hot Summer. Frustrations about racial discrimination and a lack of opportunity for black Americans were erupting on city streets across the country. Here in Minnesota, those tensions came to a head between July 19-21 on Plymouth Avenue. It was the commercial heart of a racially and ethnically mixed neighborhood; home to the city’s largest concentration of African-American residents as well as many Jewish-owned businesses. For some black Minnesotans, Plymouth Avenue was a brick and mortar reminder of racial inequality that could no longer be silently tolerated. In this hour-long documentary, producer Nancy Rosenbaum examines what happened, why, and how people in Minneapolis responded.