Editing Waterloo, Iowa (section)

==== Protests and riots ====
By the 1960s, Rath was declining and jobs there were harder to come by. A federal government program trained 1,200 local youths with the promise of summer jobs, only to hire two as bricklayers.<ref name="Halpern"/> Starting in the summer months of 1966,<ref name="news.google.com">{{cite web|title = The Telegraph – Google News Archive Search|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19670726&id=C64rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kf0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6840,2694969&hl=en|website = news.google.com|access-date = 2016-02-15}}</ref> Waterloo was subject to riots over race relations between the white community and the black community. Many white residents expressed confusion as to why riots were occurring in Waterloo,<ref name=":1" /><ref name="news.google.com"/> while younger black residents felt they were being treated unfairly, as their conditions seemed worse than those of their white neighbors.<ref name="news.google.com"/> In 1967, the black population of Waterloo was equivalent to 8%, and according to the Courier, had a 4% unemployment rate.<ref name="news.google.com"/> Waterloo was segregated at the time, as 95% of its black population lived in "East" Waterloo.<ref name="news.google.com"/> While the white community felt East High was integrated with a 45% black student body, the black community pointed out that the elementary school in East Waterloo had only one white pupil.

Protests were mostly organized by black youths aged 16–25.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="news.google.com"/> Protests became riots when the youth felt protesting wasn't effective.<ref name="news.google.com"/> Protests turned into riots in July 1968<ref name="news.google.com"/> and reached a critical mass by September, with buildings on East 4th street torched and vandalized.<ref name=":3" />

In August 1968, East High students Terri and Kathy Pearson gave the principal a list of grievances detailing how they felt the discrimination could be lessened. The principal refused to implement any of the requested changes.<ref name=":1" /> Student protests and walkouts continued through September. Students were angry that no African American history course was being taught, and that [[interracial dating]] was discouraged by teachers and administrators.<ref name=":1" />

On September 13, 1968, during an East High School football game, police attempted to arrest a black youth.<ref name=":0" /> He resisted arrest, drawing attention of students in the stands. Black students fought and argued with the police, and police responded by using clubs and mace.<ref name=":1" /> The riot continued into the east side of Waterloo, with a subsequent fire that claimed a lumber mill and three homes. There was an attempt to set East High on fire as well.<ref name=":1" /> The riot lasted until midnight and resulted in seven officers injured and thirteen youths jailed. The National Guard was called in the following day. The riots were called off and a solution was reached thanks to civil rights leader William G Parker.<ref name=":1" />