The Harlem Riot of 1935, the first in New York City in the 20th Century, was the consequence of a lingering unemployment crisis and police brutality. At 2:30 p.m. on March 19, 1935, a 16-year-old black Puerto Rican boy named Lino Rivera stole a 10 cent penknife from the Kress Five and Ten store on 125th Street. Both the store owner and the assistant manager saw Rivera steal the knife and managed to capture him before he was able to run away. A mounted police officer was called to the scene to investigate. When asked if he wanted to press charges, the store owner instructed the officer to let Rivera go.
Continue reading Revisit: HARLEM RACE RIOT (1935)

The Beaumont Race Riot of 1943 was sparked by racial tensions that arose in this Texas shipbuilding center during World War II.  The sudden influx of African American workers in industrial jobs in the Beaumont shipyard and the subsequent job competition with white workers forced race relations to a boiling point. Continue reading Revisit: BEAUMONT RACE RIOT, 1943