Paterson, New Jersey - America's first planned industrial city - was about to become known around the world. The city founded by Alexander Hamilton was in a state of decline. When the textile industries moved out, so did the jobs. But Rubin Carter, a 29-year-old African American, returned to his hometown after a stint in the Army - and a stint in reform school.

Nicknamed "Hurricane" because of the gale-force way he threw punches - about 80 a minute - Carter had turned his life around.

Although he had lost the title bout to Joey Giardello in 1964, Hurricane had a string of impressive wins. Some folks said he was the most feared fighter of his day. On June 17, 1966, he was the number one contender, preparing for another title fight - this time with Dick Tiger.

The police in Carter's hometown were mostly white males, just like in most American cities in the mid-60s. Later, a prosecutor would discuss

...the depth of racial antipathy that existed in Paterson in June, 1966...

and would acknowledge

...we know that in 1966 there were many blacks with legitimate grievances and some blacks and some whites did not act as law-abiding citizens.

At the time, and later, some folks thought a case could be made that a few of those non-law-abiding citizens were members of the law-enforcing community.

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