July '64

Unrest in Rochester New York

Summer, 1964: Violence erupted on a hot July night in Rochester, New York. JULY '64 tells the story of an unrest that altered the course of history in Rochester, and predicted urban unrest throughout the American North.

The night of Friday, July 24th, 1964 started off normally enough in Rochester New York, stiflingly hot and humid; but by the next morning no one would look at race relations in the North the same again. JULY '64 takes a penetrating look at the underlying causes of the riots or urban insurrections that swept through Black communities like wildfires that summer and in years since.

"JULY '64 presents, with remarkable images and striking words from the people who were there, a dramatic moment in the history of Rochester. This was the home of Frederick Douglass, the great abolitionist, so it is ironic and yet fitting that the realities of racial discrimination and economic injustice in all of America should be revealed in one violent summer, in one city. - ***Howard Zinn ***

"Those who made this film deserve ample credit for portraying such complexities with honesty and grace...I enthusiastically recommend this film to sociologists, political scientists, historians and those in professional fields dealing with social justice and problems of the cities. Students, in particular, could benefit from viewing this film."- Dennis E. Gale, Rutgers University