Tensions between the police and community, a deep political divide, and American soldiers deployed in an intractable war. Those descriptors could apply to today.
But they also define one of the most turbulent decades in recent U.S. history: the 1960s.
We wondered how the two eras compare, especially when it comes to racial stressors. So we asked a few people to share their perspectives.
In our first report, we relay the reflections of a white man who was a Milwaukee police officer in the 1960s.
Archive audio for this story comes Decade of Discontent, a 1981 documentary about the Milwaukee civil rights movement.
The 1960s were dominated by political assassinations, war protests and civil rights struggles. Those struggles, in some cities, resulted in race riots. People in Milwaukee -- including the late James Groppi -- feared the city could be next. "I think the wrong action of a policeman on the wrong night in the wrong neighborhood, and we're going to have a holocaust here in the city of Milwaukee," Groppi said.
Groppi was a Catholic priest, who led marches to demand an end to housing discrimination. He said black residents were fed up with segregation and unequal treatment, combined with the "apathetic" white power structure. Meanwhile, some white people made it their mission to stop Groppi and the marchers. This man took part in a picket, saying he wanted to prevent a "black riot." "The fact is simply this: that these people are agitating, they are trying to stir up trouble and we are trying to suppress that trouble," the man said. Others shouted at marchers, as they walked to the historically white south side.
Craig Hasting was on the Milwaukee Police Force. "I remember standing on the corner of 16th and National, and Fr. Groppi was coming across the 16th Street Bridge, and you were protecting both those folks who were marching, as well as those folks who were trying to interrupt that march. You were caught in the middle," Hasting says.
Officers also were caught in the middle, because they worked for a powerful, white police chief, Harold Breier. Black residents accused him of allowing police to abuse African Americans. Hasting argues that the vast majority of officers treated residents fairly. Yet friction hit a fever pitch in the summer of 1967, when agitators looted businesses and shot at police.
"A good friend of mine, a longtime friend of mine, was blinded on 2nd and Center by a sniper. We lost an officer that night in that same vicinity. So it was -- it was an emotional time," Hasting says.
Hasting says he worked for days without going home, sleeping on a cot at the police station.
"At one point, I was stationed on the roof of District No. 3 on 47th and Vliet as a lookout -- a scout -- to see if any activities were coming, because there was information that the police buildings were going to be besieged and set afire," Hasting says.
Hasting says several factors stopped the unrest.
"The mayor (Henry Maier) imposed a curfew, and the National Guard actually came in to assist. There was also high-profile appearances by the chief on the street, the initiation of the tactical squad, we could muster a great deal of manpower immediately. That also had a deterrent effect," Hasting says.
Hasting says while calm returned to the city, many officers experienced a heightened level of anxiety. It has since become known as post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Back in the `60s, we didn't know anything about stress. Most officers didn't even consider stress as part of the job. You worked to the best of your ability and you tried to go home safe, and be ready for the next tour of duty," Hasting says.
Hasting, who later earned a master's degree and taught police science, says law enforcement these days better understands the job's potential impact on mental health, and provides help, as needed. However, he thinks stress levels may be on the rise. Hasting points to tension between community members and police, due to officer killings of African Americans, and recent deadly attacks on police.
"When you have people walking up to your squad car and shooting at you, that brings a different dimension into the game, entirely," Hasting says.
Yet Hasting says the overall mission of police work remains the same, as in the 1960s.
"I don't see any distinction between today's officers and the officers of my era, who have still the simple, singular focus: to serve and protect and to do your job, and to be colorblind, as well," Hasting says.
