Baltimore '68 Riots and Rebirth Collection ( BSR)
Peter B. Levy, professor of history at York College and author of numerous publications on the civil rights movement—including an acclaimed book on a 1960s race riot in Cambridge, Md.—will serve as scholar in residence at the University of Baltimore as it prepares for a yearlong examination of the 1968 civil disturbances in Baltimore on the occasion of their 40th anniversary next year. Levy, whose teaching and scholarship focuses on several aspects of 20th-century American history, including the labor movement, women's rights, civil rights, the environment and economics, will join a team of UB professors, staff and students, and others from beyond campus in an intense, multifaceted examination of the unrest that shook Baltimore in the days following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968.
The city was devastated by nearly two weeks of disturbances that left six dead, dozens injured, hundreds if not thousands arrested, and a remarkable number of properties, both private and public, burned, shattered and in ruins. The events, which culminated in the deployment of thousands of armed National Guard troops across the city on the orders of Governor Spiro Agnew and regular Army troops on the orders of President Lyndon Johnson, captured the attention of a nation that was already reeling from similar riots in other cities across the country.
In 2008, UB will offer a close-up examination of the riots—their causes and the short- and long-term consequences—in a series of public events called "Baltimore '68: Riots and Rebirth." The highlight of the events will be an on-campus conference in April '08 exploring the effects of the riots and the many efforts at civic healing that followed. This national gathering of experts will include scholars across disciplines as varied as race relations, civic engagement and 20th-century history.
Levy, whose book, Civil War on Race Street: The Civil Rights Movement in Cambridge, Maryland, received an Academic Title of the Year award from Choice magazine, will build on prior but incomplete knowledge about the Baltimore episode, engaging not only primary sources such as eyewitnesses but also secondary sources such as insurance and police and court records. His goal is to develop a portrait of the city both before and after the riots—one that helps explain why the city experienced such a prolonged period of anger and violence, and what resulted from it.
"I hope to shed light on where the riots occurred, how intense they were and who was affected," Levy said. "It's a complicated series of events that has not received its due attention."
During his tenure as scholar in residence at UB, Levy will work to answer the following questions:
- Were the post-assassination riots different than those that occurred in many American cities well before April 1968?
- How did the riots in Baltimore compare to the post-assassination riots in other cities?
- Did these riots lead to further official studies by federal or state commissions?
- If so, have scholars made use of these studies, or have they relied on findings released prior to King's murder?
Finally, the scholar in residence said he will consider the works and theories of disaster sociologists, with the goal of developing a theoretical framework for better understanding the Baltimore riots and their aftermath. Levy said that disaster sociologists such as Kai Erikson of Yale University have examined a variety of "catastrophic" events, ranging from hurricanes to the bombing of Hiroshima, in order to better understand how communities respond to disasters. Erikson, for example, looks beyond the physical destruction of disasters to the impact that these events have on the intangible ways that communities hold themselves together. In some cases, Erikson has discovered, the physical recovery from a disaster takes place much faster than the healing of the human psyche.
Levy said that in the months leading up to the conference, he will also work with other project members as an aid to their research and planning efforts.
Historian Jessica Elfenbein, director of the Community Studies and Civic Engagement program in UB’s Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the lead organizer of the events, said that Levy's presence adds energy and insight to the sometimes daunting project.
"His expertise and confidence are inspiring to all of us who are looking into this difficult, tragic thing that happened to our city not so long ago," Elfenbein said. "Peter brings the historian’s perspective, which is to understand that nothing is without shades of meaning, including violence in the streets. Once you grasp that, it’s amazing to consider how far-reaching the civil unrest was, how it resonates here today in many ways—some of which are part of the rebirth of Baltimore."
Levy holds a doctorate and master's degree in history from Columbia University, and a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He began teaching at York College in 1989 and was named a full professor there in 2004. Prior to that, he taught at Rutgers University.
His publications include nine books, with titles such as America in the 1960s—Right Left and Center: A Documentary History; The New Left and Labor in the 1960s (nominated for the Merle Curti Award, granted biannually for the best book in social history in American history by the Organization of American Historians); and 100 Key Documents in American Democracy. He has produced more than 40 articles and reviews in scholarly publications, and a similar number of academic papers.
Levy serves as an editor for Shapers of the Great Debates, a multivolume series with a biographical approach to history. He is a peer reviewer for noted publications including The Historian, Peace and Change and The Journal of American History, and has served as historical consultant to a number of special initiatives, including the Maryland chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union's Bill of Rights Education Project and the 25th Annual Conference on Black History in Pennsylvania.
More information about "Baltimore '68 Riots and Rebirth" is available by contacting Elfenbein at 410.837.5340, or email us at:Baltimore68@ubalt.edu