Race+Riots

1 Andrew Coffey May 11, 2008 Sophomore Research Paper [|Race Riots]in the First Half of the Twentieth Century. Race Riots began were taking place throughout the [|United States] mainly during the first half of the twentieth century. These riots took place all over America but most notably in Harlem (1935), Chicago (1919), Detroit (1943), and Los Angeles (1943). A race riot is a violent civil disorder where race is the “main factor”. They are known to be commotion caused by a mob of people of the same race opposing a certain factor. These riots tend to cause a large amount of destruction and violence. They would mainly protest against the government, the law enforcement, or a small business in the area which seemed to be against a certain racial group. These riots protested groups that supported [|lynching], racial profiling, or were against a certain racial group and/or [|religion]. These riots usually begin with a political decision is made that affects the lives of these individuals. The riots are led all by the same race. Chicago has gained a reputation as being the “lead of race riots.” There were large amounts of race riots and conflicts that took place during the early twentieth century. This all began when the white citizens did not want African Americans to have equal rights. They strongly stood by their argument and how[|African Americans]should not have equal opportunity, housing, or political [|“say-so”.]This lead them to protest against the white people and stand up for their rights. They did not have the respect or support of the government. 2 One of the most famous race riots in American history and in Chicago took place in 1919. It began on the 27th of July and lasted until the 3rd of August of that year. It all began when an African American teenager was drowned because he crossed an “unidentified” line that separated the black and white beaches on twenty-ninth street. This lead to one of the worst riots in our nation’s history. It took place within a span of seven days that consisted of brutal shootings, beatings, and arson fires. The results were totally brutal. There were a total of five hundred fifty seven people injured while fifteen white people were dead along with twenty-three African Americans. The police force simply did not have enough “force” and they were all white which meant they supported the white’s. The state then came in to try and help enforce this riot which lead the violence to a halt. So how were they able to do this? They sprayed the rioters with water which lead the violence to stop. This did not end the violence, but it was only the beginning. The tension for riots began while the first World War was taking place. This lead for the African Americans to migrate to the South. After the second World War, African Americans were seeking new housing opportunities beyond the ghetto’s of the South. They decided to move to the new housing development built by the Chicago Housing Authority. They were usually welcomed with bombs, arson and angry mobs of white families. One example of a massive riot took place in 1951 which is known to be the Cierco Riot. It took place during several nights and it involved five thousand protestors who were white. Throughout the post-world war two African Americans became more involved in society and decided to fight the rules in order to finally “break the barriers”. 3 The second riot which is also a well known one in the United Sates took place in 1925 in Harlem, New York. The riot took place because of the discrimination among race in Harlem, poor housing and health care, along with a large amount of unemployment. Unemployment had been floating around Harlem since the Great Depression in 1929 and has therefore stood around. Until the 1920’s which was the Harlem Renaissance, it was a city that was just about forgotten by many. This lead to its poor beginning and brought in the Federal Mortgage of the New Deal. The riot of 1935 began when an African American boy was caught stealing a knife from a drug store. This lead to the employees beating the boy and then the riot broke through. After the riot had taken place, the New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia wanted to research what actually started this two day riot. He decided that he would have to improve life in the slums. His plan was to introduce a new health care program and housing projects. Even though Mayor La Guardia put a lot of effort into making Harlem a better community for all, it still failed. It ended up leading to another riot taking place in 1943. One of the largest riots took place in Detroit in 1943 during the second World War. Racial tensions were on the rise in Detroit during this period because African Americans form the South were migrating to the “industrial city.” In the country during that time period, there was a job shortage in the country but many were still available in Detroit because of the factories. Support for the migrations began coming in and continued to in 1941 when United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt came out with the fair Employment Practices Committee also known to many as the FEPC. This Committee declared that discrimination could not be allowed in the work place. This 4 triggered the riot on June 20, 1943. It took place on Belle Isle which is one of the largest parks in Detroit. It all began when a confrontation between young African Americans and White people broke out to total chaos. There were over one thousand of them on this hot Sunday afternoon and the fight broke out when a war of race broke out. The white teenagers fought off against the black teenagers. They attacked any passerby including streetcars in the downtown area and they destroyed many private properties. Owners of local stores who were white decided to get involved. They burned and turned over cars that were owned by black people. So what was the outcome of this? There were a total of seventeen black teenagers who were shot to death by police officials, but no whites were killed or beaten. This shows clear proof of racism involved in this riot. So what made this riot come to an end? It would have never came to an end if it was not for Governor Harry Kelly and Mayor Edward Jeffries Jr. contacted President FDR for his assistance. This issue was taken care of when he ordered troops in armored vehicles to invade the area. This lasted for three days and the total dead were thirty-four. Twenty-five of them were black and only nine of them were white with a shocking six hundred seventy-five injuries along with one thousand eight-hundred-ninety-three arrests. In early June of the year 1943, one of the most brutal race riots occurred. It took place in Los Angles, California. This was a riot that included Hispanics, whites, and African Americans. This was the first ever riot to take place in the South of California and the most brutal of them all. This riot is also many times looked at to be the “zoot- suit” riot because this was the first one that stripped both the Mexican and African 5 Americans from their uniforms known as zoot-suits which were in fashion at the time. Any time you would see someone wear a zoot-suit, they would tend to be a black urban person. The suit symbolized style and the choice of dress preferred by black entertainers or by the “hip crowd.” This was one of the most controversial and unforgotten riots in our nations history. It was the first that involved three races; Hispanic, black, and white. An example that times have still not changed is what happened to Shawn Bell. The shooting incident took place in 2006 in New York City. Three African American men were shot a disgusting fifty times by New York City Police Officers. I could not believe how over board these police officers went. It took place on the morning of his wedding day. He was dead while his two friends were severally wounded. This sparked the question "Have times really changed or have they stayed the same?" regarding racism. According to the New York Times, the official police report states "... no meaningful discussion of a fourth man, a mysterious figure who some in the Police Department have suggested may have been present along with the three men who were shot. None of the witnesses whose accounts are in the report speaks of someone who may have fled — perhaps possessing a gun — and there are no indications that the police at the time were seeking anyone who may have left the scene." As you can clearly see, Race Riots began were taking place throughout the United States mainly during the first half of the twentieth century. These riots were very 6 widespread and significant. They were the most controversial riots in our nation’s history. These riots took place all over America into the second half of the 20th century. The most known are in Harlem (1935), Chicago (1919), Detroit (1943), and Los Angeles (1943). A race riot is a violent civil disorder where race is the “main factor”. They are known to be commotion caused by a mob of people of the same race opposing a certain factor.

Works Consulted. Sophomore Research Paper 2008 Biography-Race Riots.. Dir. O’Herlihv, Michael. Videocassette.1986. Biography Channel, 1986. Crowther, Samuel. Moving Forward. New York: Lightening Source ,2003. Eisenhower, Dwight. Today And Tomorrow. New York: Harper Collins,1988. Eisenhower, Dwight. Success. New York: Lightening Source ,2005. Hisory of Race Riots, The. Dir. O’Herlihv, Michael. Videocassette. 2004. A&E Home Video, 2004. “Malcolm X Interview.” 1 April 2008. =- 3144694870348680737. “Race Riot History Museum” 6 April2008.< ?docid=6173825420927144259&q=race+riots&total=1374&start=0&num=10&s o=0&type=search&plindex=2>. “The Impact of Race Riots”. ddemgov.org. 2003. Eisenhower Museum. 1 April 2008. .

code

code