The 1968 Baltimore riots, sparked by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. days, began with frustrated teenagers throwing rocks and smashing windows on April 6, 1968. By the next morning, three people were dead, 70 injured, more than 100 arrested and 5,500 National Guardsmen — along with more than 1,500 other law enforcement officials — occupied the city, according to an account in Baltimore Magazine.
Despite the distance of time and the differences between then and now, it’s hard not to see parallels between some of the striking imagery from 1968 and photographs from the ongoing protest-turned-riot that followed the funeral of Freddie Gray.
See the Clashes in Baltimore After Freddie Gray's Funeral
A rioter stands atop a burning car as another man pours fuel onto the fire while Baltimore firefighters behind them fight fires in multiple burning buildings set ablaze by rioters during clashes in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Jim Bourg—ReutersFirefighters battle a blaze after riots in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Jerry Jackson—TNS /LandovTwo cars burn in the middle of an intersection during riots near New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Andrew Burton—Getty ImagesProtestors and pedestrians walk down Pennsylvania Avenue as smoke from a nearby CVS on fire covers the area in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Noah Scialom—EPAA demonstrator raises his fist as police stand in formation as a store burns during unrest following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on Monday, April 27, 2015.Patrick Semansky—APDemonstrators climb on a destroyed Baltimore Police car in the street near the corner of Pennsylvania and North avenues during violent protests following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Chip Somodevilla—Getty ImagesPolice carry an injured officer from the streets near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty ImagesA demonstrator looks up after being sprayed with pepper spray during clashes in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Shannon Stapleton—ReutersA man walks past a burning police vehicle in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Patrick Semansky—APPolice put out a fire while responding to people protesting after the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Michael Reynolds—EPAPolice officers arrest a man near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Drew Angerer—Getty ImagesPolice officers use pepper spray against demonstrators after the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Jose Luis Magana—APBaltimore police officers tackle and arrest looters after they emerged from a "Deals" store with merchandise during clashes between rioters and police in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Jim Bourg—ReutersA protestor unrolls police caution tape on North Avenue and Fulton Street during a protest for the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Noah Scialom—EPAA man hurls a rock at Baltimore police officers outside the Mondawmin Mall following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Chip Somodevilla—Getty ImagesPolice officers walk in formation on Reisterstown Road near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015 .Drew Angerer—Getty ImagesBaltimore police officers form a line in front of protesters near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty ImagesA woman cries as demonstrators throw rocks at police officers during clashes in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Shannon Stapleton—ReutersProtesters surround a police officer near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Drew Angerer—Getty ImagesFriends and relatives say their last goodbyes to Freddie Gray as his casket is lowered into his grave at the Woodland Cemetery in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Chip Somodevilla—Getty ImagesA pillow depicts the image of Freddie Gray inside his open casket during the funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Michael Reynolds—EPAGloria Darden, mother of Freddie Gray, is comforted as she embraces his body before his funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Patrick Semansky—APGloria Darden, mother of Freddie Gray, is embraced before her son's funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty ImagesA man is carried away by police during riots in Baltimore, 1968. Afro American Newspaper/Gado/Getty ImagesBaltimore Police officers arrest a man following the funeral of Freddie Gray near Mowdamin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Drew Angerer—Getty ImagesStudents demonstrate during a Black Power event at Morgan State University in Baltimore on April 6, 1968.Afro American Newspaper/Gado/Getty ImagesProtestors participate in a vigil for Freddie Gray down the street from the Baltimore Police Department's Western District police station in Baltimore on April 21, 2015.Drew Angerer—Getty ImagesNational Guardsmen seal off a business-residential section of Baltimore and prepare to use tear gas against looters on April 8, 1968.Baltimore News-American/APBaltimore Police form a perimeter around a CVS pharmacy that was looted and burned in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Chip Somodevilla—Getty ImagesSmoke billows from a liquor store which was looted during the third day of violence, which saw over 400 fires, in Baltimore on April 8, 1968. Baltimore News-American/APFire fighters respond to a fire at a CVS pharmacy in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Sait Serkan Gurbuz—ReutersBaltimore City police pin down a curfew breaker in Baltimore on April 9, 1968.APLaw enforcement officers detain a demonstrator on Gilmore Avenue near Baltimore Police Department Western District during a protest against the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 25, 2015. Sait Serkan Gurbuz—Reuters
