October 20, 1966
Johnson makes Presidential visit to Detroit
With the midterm election just two weeks away, President Johnson paid a visit to the disaster-ravaged city of Detroit. Accompanied by Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh and former Governor Soapy Williams, President Johnson toured the city, visiting factories, schools, and churches. Johnson spoke at Cadillac Square, where he announced his 1964 campaign two years prior [1]. The speech was well-received by the audience, except for an interruption by a few antiwar hecklers, who were hastily dragged out by police.
“Two weeks ago, a mass of heavily polluted air—filled with poisons from a nuclear power plant—settled down upon the four million people of Greater Detroit," said Johnson. "For four days, anyone going out on the streets inhaled chemical compounds that threatened his health. Those who remained inside had little protection from the radioactive particles that passed freely through cooling and heating systems. An estimated 80 persons died. Finally, the winds changed direction, freeing the people from the contaminated air. The immediate crisis was ended. Detroiters began to breathe ‘ordinary’ air again.” [2]
Johnson ordered a “greatly accelerated” research effort to improve atomic power plant safety, and promised that his administration would create stricter regulations on atomic power plants. “The regulation of atomic power is a matter of highest priority,” said Johnson. [3] Johnson pledged that he would make a supplemental budget request for the 1968 fiscal year that would allot millions of dollars for decontamination efforts.
Turning his attention to the riots, Johnson denounced the violence and called for renewed efforts to address poverty and racism to prevent future violence. “Not even the sternest police action, nor the most effective Federal troops, can ever create lasting peace in our cities. The only genuine, long-range solution for what has happened lies in an attack— mounted at every level—upon the conditions that breed despair and violence. All of us know what those conditions are: ignorance, discrimination, slums, poverty, disease, not enough jobs. We should attack these conditions—not because we are frightened by conflict, but because we are fired by conscience. We should attack them because there is simply no other way to achieve a decent and orderly society in America.” [4]