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May 21, 1980 – News from Miami, where rioting had been going on since the 18th, following the acquittal of four Dade County Public Safety Department officers in the death of Arthur McDuffie. McDuffie, a black salesman and former Marine, died from injuries sustained at the hands of four officers trying to arrest him after a high-speed chase. The officers were tried and acquitted for manslaughter and evidence tampering, among other charges. Subsequently, a riot broke out in the black neighborhoods of Overtown and Liberty City in Miami. The 1980 Miami riots were the deadliest since the 1960s. On this day National Guards troops were brought in, in an attempt to quell the disturbance. The dusk-to-dawn curfew was lifted after police reported no new incidents since the previous day. Death toll was placed at 16 with over $100 million in property damage.
In other news – President Carter arrived in Washington State to inspect the damage done by the Mt. St. Helens eruption. Just before he left the White House, Carter declared the State of Washington a disaster area in order to permit the use of Federal funds for relief and recovery efforts. Mr. Carter was expected to spend the night in Portland Oregon before flying over the volcano the following day. The eruption claimed at least 11 lives with more than 70 reported still missing.
And this was Day 200 for the 50 American hostages being held in Tehran. The latest word was that the ranian Parliament had a lot on its legislative plate and that it wouldn’t get around to debating the fate of the hostages for several more weeks. The Ayatollah Beheshti said that America should be patient. According to the State Department, there wasn’t much else anyone could do.
And that’s a little of what went on, this May 21st in 1980 as reported by National Public Radio.
