Hunters Point social uprising (1966) facts for kids

The Hunters Point social uprising (also known as the Hunters Point Riot or Rebellion) broke out in the Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco on the night of September 27, 1966, after San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) officer Alvin Johnson shot and killed Matthew Johnson, a teenager who was fleeing the scene of a stolen car. The National Guard and California Highway Patrol (CHP) were deployed late that night by Governor Pat Brown, and martial law was imposed until October 1.

By 11 P.M. the night of September 27, the first reports of smashed windows, looting, and rioting were starting to arrive from SFPD's Northern District, covering the Fillmore District. When the first Highway Patrol officers began to arrive, they were dispatched to assist SFPD in both the Fillmore and Hunters Point areas.

The curfew was drawn around neighborhoods in the Fillmore and Hunters Point districts. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) later called the boundaries "gerrymandered around all areas with a large Negro population", pointing out that one neighborhood surrounding St. Francis Square was excluded from the curfew area generally imposed on the Fillmore because it was "a mostly white middleclass housing project."

LTG Hill (L) and Chief Cahill (R) meet at the Hall of Justice

Adjutant General Roderic L. Hill of the California National Guard arrived at SFPD headquarters at 1:15 A.M., and Candlestick Park and Kezar Stadium were selected as the staging areas for the National Guard soldiers being mobilized. By 7 A.M. on Wednesday, September 28, control had returned to Potrero Station and the situation was calm until calls began at 9:30 A.M. reporting that crowds were gathering near the Bayview Community Center.

Aftermath

Smashed displays and scattered mannequins

Cleaning up broken glass

Typical damage following "riot" activity.

During the 128 hours that followed the killing of Matthew Johnson, 359 were arrested (many for curfew violations) and 51 were injured, including 6 police officers, 2 firefighters, and 1 municipal bus driver. No additional people were killed, and property damage was estimated at less than $100,000. According to the official report 128 Hours, 457 were arrested and 160 were injured (58 police officers, 27 firefighters, 5 other city employees, and 2 from CHP; 69 civilians, of whom 10 reported gunshot wounds). That report's detailed assessment of damages counted US$45,063 (equivalent to $406,000 in 2022) in property damage and US$90,824 (equivalent to $819,000 in 2022) in inventory losses.

Legacy

The Hunters Point Social Uprising was one of the subjects covered in Our Part of Town, a 1994 production at the Bayview Opera House based on oral histories compiled by Heidi Hardin.