Revisit: CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY RIOTS (1969 AND 1971)

The city of Camden, New Jersey was the setting for two deadly race-related riots on September 2nd, 1969, and August 20th, 1971. Both riots were in response to alleged police brutality or murder, the victims being an unidentified young black girl, who was beaten by a white police officer in 1969, and Rafael Rodriguez Gonzales, a Puerto Rican motorist who was beaten and killed by other white officers in 1971. Protestors called for the punishment of the officers responsible; however, in both instances, those responsible never faced full justice. Continue reading Revisit: CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY RIOTS (1969 AND 1971)

Revisit: ASBURY PARK RACE RIOT (1970)

Asbury Park, New Jersey’s West Side district—predominantly black and housing 40% of the town’s permanent population—was consumed by rioting from July 4 to July 10 in 1970. At the time of the riot, 30% of the population, 17,000 people approximately, were African American. The town’s huge tourist-resort industry brought the population to 80,000 annually and employed a large portion of African Americans. However, over time, jobs were increasingly … Continue reading Revisit: ASBURY PARK RACE RIOT (1970)

Revisit: THE CREOLE CASE (1841)

The Creole Case was the result of an American slave revolt in November 1841 on board the Creole, a ship involved in the United States coastwise slave trade. As a consequence of the revolt, 128 enslaved people won their freedom in the Bahamas, then a British possession. Because of the number of people eventually freed, the Creole mutiny was the most successful slave revolt in US history. In the fall of 1841, the brig Creole, which … Continue reading Revisit: THE CREOLE CASE (1841)

Revisit: STONO REBELLION (1739)

In 1739, a slave uprising in South Carolina led to the deaths of sixty people. Led by Jemmy, an Angolan, twenty slaves rebelled on the Stono River, resulting in armed conflict and subsequent control measures by the authorities. The uprising’s causes are linked to a malaria epidemic, a recent security act, and the imbalance of white and black populations. Continue reading Revisit: STONO REBELLION (1739)