Harlem riot of 1935 facts for kids

The Harlem riot of 1935 was a big event that happened on March 19, 1935. It took place in Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City, during a tough time called the Great Depression. This event is sometimes called the first "modern" riot in Harlem. This is because people mostly damaged buildings and stores, not other people. At that time, Harlem was a neighborhood where most people were African American.

The riot started because of a rumor. People heard that a black Puerto Rican teenager was hurt by workers at a store. This store was a "five and dime" shop called S. H. Kress. That evening, a protest happened outside the store. Someone threw a rock through a window, and then people started damaging the store. Other white-owned businesses were also damaged. Three people died, and hundreds were hurt. The damage to properties in the area cost about $2 million. Homes and businesses owned by African Americans were mostly left alone.

Why the Riot Happened

During the Great Depression, many people struggled to find jobs. This was especially true for minority groups in Harlem and other parts of New York. Often, they were the first to lose their jobs and the last to be hired. Life was very difficult for them.

The Spark: A Rumor Spreads

On March 19, 1935, at 2:30 in the afternoon, something happened at the Kress Five and Ten store. A worker caught 16-year-old Lino Rivera trying to take a 10-cent penknife. Lino was a black Puerto Rican teenager. The worker threatened to hurt Lino. Lino bit the worker's hand. The store manager called the police, but Lino was eventually let go.

Meanwhile, a crowd started to gather outside the store. A woman who saw what happened began shouting that Lino was being beaten. When an ambulance arrived to help the bitten worker, people thought it meant Lino was badly hurt. Then, when a hearse (a car for funerals) parked nearby, a rumor spread. People started saying that Lino had been beaten to death. The woman who started shouting was arrested. The Kress store closed early, and the police made the crowd leave. After the riot began, the police tried to show Lino was okay. But they could not find him until the next morning because he had given a false address.

The Riot Begins

Protest Turns to Destruction

In the early evening, a group called the Young Liberators started a protest outside the Kress store. Thousands of people quickly joined them. They handed out flyers. One flyer said, "CHILD BRUTALLY BEATEN." Another flyer talked about "the brutal beating of the 12 year old boy [...] for taking a piece of candy."

At some point, someone threw a rock and broke the Kress store window. Then, people started damaging and looting (stealing from) stores. This destruction spread along 125th Street, from Fifth to Eighth avenues. Most of the damaged businesses were owned by white people. Some stores quickly put up signs that said "COLORED STORE" or "COLORED HELP EMPLOYED HERE."

In the early morning, as the riot spread, the police found Lino Rivera at his mother's apartment. They took a picture of him with a police officer. Copies of this picture were given out in Harlem to show that Lino was not hurt. New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia also put up posters asking people to calm down.

After the Riot: What Happened Next

By the end of the next day, Harlem's streets were peaceful again. Three black people died, 125 people were arrested, and 100 people were injured. The District Attorney, William C. Dodge, blamed Communist groups for causing the trouble.

Mayor LaGuardia created a special group called the Mayor's Commission on Conditions in Harlem. This group had members from different races. It was led by an African-American sociologist named E. Franklin Frazier. Other members included Judge Hubert Thomas Delany, Countee Cullen, and labor leader A. Philip Randolph. Their job was to find out why the riot happened.

The committee wrote a report called The Negro in Harlem: A Report on Social and Economic Conditions Responsible for the Outbreak of March 19, 1935. The report said the riot happened "spontaneously," meaning it was not planned. It found "no evidence of any program or leadership of the rioters." The report said the riot was caused by "injustices of discrimination in employment, the aggressions of the police, and the racial segregation." These were the unfair conditions that led to the riot. The report also said that Communist groups deserved "more credit than any other element in Harlem for preventing a physical conflict between whites and blacks." Alain Locke was chosen to help put the report's ideas into action.

However, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia did not make the committee's report public. It would have remained a secret, but a black New York newspaper, the Amsterdam News, later printed it in parts.