It's a miracle the race war didn't start then really.
Things were honestly different in a way.
For one thing, a lot of people, even comedians, viewed the riots as disgraceful. Like Chris Rock said: "Motherfuckers running around yelling WE WON! WE WON! What the fuck did we win? A burnt down house? I didn't get a Rodney King check."
A lot of influential black people and black people period felt they were better than that. The Rust Belt had replaced the Steel Belt and the auto industry was gone so a lot of black people knew whites had it just as tough in some places. People were
trying to make strides and people believed we could end racism and leave it in the dustbin of history, not this "You white, you pay forever! You pay now!"
Hood-Rat and Gangsta culture wasn't so pervasive yet.
Plus, black people weren't infantilized as badly yet, the black family unit still somewhat existed, and the Gibsmedat culture wasn't t hat pervasive and it was looked down upon.
That, and, well...
The Man would fucking KILL YOU. He wouldn't fuck around. He killed them rich white kids at Kent State, he'll kill your fucking ass. You didn't fuck with the Man.
Now? Well, black people seem to feel, maybe with some justification, that they can do whatever they want and nothing will really happen to them. They think that how they have it is as bad as it will ever get and nobody can do anything to them to punish them or its racism.
Christ, I can write a fucking Full Metal Sperg post on the difference between then and now.