there's a huge difference between how and why a riot is organized. A bunch of high school students tossing rocks on the way home from school, isn't even a riot unless they manage to set some fires, but I'm not sure the fires were set by the kids, I think adults did that. This was a protest more than a riot.
In Detroit in 1967, the black panthers burned 12 city blocks to the ground, utterly razed it. The panthers were well organized and well armed. First city police found themselves outgunned, the whole reason police are so fast to call in the Guard these days is because the mayor of Detroit hesitated, didn't want to admit he was unable to handle the riot. Even the Guard was initially driven back. Then they brought in armor, halftracks with machine guns... I dont know if there were any tanks used, doubt it. Took 30 days to gain control of the battle zone, not unlike taking one of those hills over in Italy from the Germans in WWII.
The largest riot in American history was the draft riots in NYC during the Civil War. 2nd was the Watts riot in '67 followed by Detroit in '67. Those were real riots, engineered to create social change. The riots in Detroit were followed by a prolonged onslaught of whites living in the city. The message was simple: move or we kill you. This was my childhood, this was Detroit where I lived and started work in 1976. when I drove to my first job on Wyoming avenue, I had to take the John C Lodge freeway... at the time it was being policed by state police for murder. They said the state police were not even writing speeding tickets in order to stay vigilant against the rampant murder of whites on that freeway. One day on the way to work I tested it, maintained 70 mph with a state trooper right on my rear, he pulled up beside me and gave me a look like, "stop it" and I slowed down... but no ticket.
