RIOTSVILLE, USA               3 ½ suns

The lone documentary for today was RIOTSVILLE, USA taking us back to 1967 and 1968, a time when unrest was impacting America’s cities brought about by the racial injustices of the era. The usual government response was to put down the riots with police forces outfitted in riot gear. The filmmakers researched and found archival footage of two mock towns the army built called “Riotsvilles” that were used for training military and police how to respond to domestic civil disorder. It covers the establishment and findings of the Kerner Commission, created by the Johnson administration to make recommendations for dealing with this civil unrest. The commission was made up of only moderates but still made some recommendations that the conditions of the unrest needed to be addressed. However, the only steps actually enacted were those dealing with increased funding and training for the police. (How predictable.) The documentary is also notable for covering the events of the 1968 Republican National Convention held in Miami. Everyone has seen pictures of the Democratic Convention in Chicago, but few can remember the convention where Richard Nixon received the nomination and the protests that accompanied it. The film points out that the police there were trained at the Riotsville facility. It is a fascinating story of one aspect of the sixties that is long forgotten.