During this period there was a large amount of
white flight, in which white residents moved to surrounding suburbs in search of safety and economic opportunity. Neighborhoods were further divided by the construction of the
North-South Freeway; 1,289 families were displaced by the highway, 85% of which were nonwhite families. Along with this, civil unrest grew resulting in riots. Police brutality and crime were at an all-time high which further exacerbated Camden's problems.