I was born in ‘51 and raised in upstate NY. No race riots there, but I remember them on the TV every single night for what seemed like forever. It felt like they might have occurred on Mars for all the effect it had on us. However, getting sucker-punched in the face in downtown Ithaca and watching the race riots taught me to stay out of inner cities at a young age. I worked in Compton on a short job in ‘74 and was extremely wary.
I was born in ‘51, too. I was growing up on a ranch during those riots. They had no effect on us, either. We carried guns around in the pick up’s but they were for hunting or rattle snakes.
I learned about race relations in the Army.
Like so many of us did. I wasn’t a racist until then.