Revisit: THE JERSEY CITY UPRISING 

The 1964 Jersey City, New Jersey Uprising began August 2 and lasted three nights until the morning of August 5.  The uprising began in the predominantly black neighborhood of Lafayette in Jersey City after police arrested 26-year-old African American Delores Shannon for disorderly conduct and being drunk in public. Another African American, 34-year-old Walter Mays, attempted to intervene in Shannon’s arrest and was himself arrested.  The arrests of Shannon and Mays initiated the uprising. Continue reading Revisit: THE JERSEY CITY UPRISING 

Revisit: THE PHILADELPHIA RACE RIOT

The 1918 Race Riot in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania began on July 26, 1918, two days after an African American woman, Adella Bond, moved into her new home in a primarily white area of South Philadelphia.  On the evening of July 26, a large crowd of white people gathered outside Bond’s home.  As tensions rose within the group, someone threw a rock through Bond’s window.  Bond responded by firing a pistol into the air to call for help from the police but she unintentionally hit and injured Joseph Kelly, one of the men in the crowd outside.  Rioting began in earnest with Kelly’s shooting and several people was arrested when the police arrived. Continue reading Revisit: THE PHILADELPHIA RACE RIOT

Revisit: CROWN HEIGHTS (BROOKLYN) NEW YORK RIOT

On August 19, 1991, two African American cousins named Gavin and Angela Cato were playing in the streets of Brooklyn, New York.  As Gavin went to adjust his bike lock, an Orthodox Jewish driver named Yosefl Lifsch, who was part of a motorcade for notable Rabbi Menachen M. Schneerson, swerved onto the sidewalk. Lifsch struck the cousins, killing Gavin, and seriously injuring Angela. Although it was later debunked, rumors spread that Lifsch was drunk, and that the death was deliberate. Continue reading Revisit: CROWN HEIGHTS (BROOKLYN) NEW YORK RIOT