Today in Labor History June 13, 1971: A Rebellion at Roosevelt Park, in Albuquerque, began after a young Chicano man was reportedly arrested for selling a joint to an undercover cop. Hundreds of hippies and Chicano youth were at the park for a concert that never took place. Las Gorras Negras (The Black Berets), a radical group that had organized to fight for Chicano safety against police violence, and for self-determination, tried to intervene, but the police shot at them, injuring several people. Outraged, hundreds of militant Chicano youth overturned cars, looted, threw Molotov cocktails, and destroyed buildings. The National Guard were ultimately called in to quell the rioting, which continued for days. 41 people were injured, at least 15 by gunfire. Fire‐bombs destroyed about $3 million worth of buildings and cars. During a 1967 uprising, the state used National Guards to round up protesters, including old women and children, herding them into a sheep bin, where they were kept under armed guard for hours without ever charging them with a crime.

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