The Racist History of Curfews in America
The restrictions imposed during recent racial justice protests have their roots in efforts to “contain” Black Americans.
During the 1965 Watts riots, Los Angeles deployed more than 14,000 National Guardsmen alongside the local police force to patrol the 46-square mile “curfew zone” that the city had imposed on poor and predominantly Black neighborhoods.
Photographer: Bettmann
There had been several nights of protests over the police killing of George Floyd before Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf issued a curfew as a “last resort.” What had started as a peaceful solidarity march devolved when some protesters broke from the crowd and began smashing windows.
By the time Schaaf made her announcement on June 1 to ban some people from going outside after 8 p.m., stores had been burglarized, cars set on fire, and tear gas deployed by police. “We did not make this decision lightly,” Schaaf said in a press release, “and we are mindful that a curfew is a serious tool that has been used by American governments as a tool of oppression and racial bias.”
Schaaf was one of many American mayors and officials who made the decision over the past few weeks to issue curfews over concerns about looting and violence. But her comments point to the irony of curfews during protests over police brutality against Black Americans: While the demonstrations are challenging the racial legacy of larger systems, the curfews themselves are part of this troubled legacy.