Harlem Riot of 1935
| Harlem riot of 1935 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | March 19, 1935 | ||
| Location | Harlem, New York City, New York | ||
| Causes | False reports of a black teen being beaten by a store owner | ||
| Parties to the civil conflict | |||
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| Casualties | |||
| Death(s) | 3 | ||
| Injuries | Hundreds | ||
The Harlem riot of 1935 took place on March 19 during the Great Depression, in New York City, New York, in the United States. It has been described as the first "modern" race riot in Harlem, because it was committed primarily against property rather than persons. Harlem is a northern neighborhood on Manhattan island in New York City whose population at the time was predominately African American. The rioting did not feature two ethnic groups in conflict.
It was sparked by rumors that a black Puerto Rican teenage shoplifter was beaten by employees at a dimestore. That evening a demonstration was held outside the store and, after someone threw a rock through the window, more general destruction of the store and other white-owned properties ensued. Three persons died, hundreds were wounded, and an estimated $2 million in damages was caused to properties throughout the district. African American-owned homes and businesses were spared the worst of the destruction.
During the Great Depression, minorities in Harlem and elsewhere in New York suffered as they struggled with unemployment. Minorities were often fired first and hired last in times of fluctuating employment, and conditions were bleak.
At 2:30 in the afternoon on March 19, 1935, an employee at the Kress Five and Ten store at 256 W. 125th Street (just across the street from the Apollo Theater) caught 16-year-old Lino Rivera shoplifting a 10-cent penknife; the boy was a black Puerto Rican. When his captor threatened to take Rivera into the store's basement and "beat the hell out of him," Rivera bit the employee's hand. The manager intervened and the police were called, but Rivera was eventually released. In the meantime, a crowd had begun to gather outside around a woman who had witnessed Rivera's apprehension; she was shouting that Rivera was being beaten. When an ambulance showed up to treat the wounds of the employee who had been bitten, it appeared to confirm the woman's story. When the crowd noticed a hearse parked outside of the store, the rumor began to circulate that Rivera had been beaten to death. The woman who had raised the alarm was arrested for disorderly conduct, the Kress Five and Ten store was closed early, and the crowd was dispersed by police.
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