The 1935 Harlem riot is considered the first modern race riot in the United States, targeting property rather than people amid racial and economic tensions.
Key Facts
- Date
- March 19, 1935
- Deaths
- 3 people
- Wounded
- Hundreds people
- Property damage
- 2,000,000 USD
- Trigger location
- S. H. Kress five-and-dime store, Harlem
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Rumors spread through Harlem that a black Puerto Rican teenage shoplifter had been beaten by employees at an S. H. Kress five-and-dime store. These rumors, amid longstanding racial and economic grievances in a predominantly African American neighborhood, inflamed community anger and drew demonstrators to the store that evening.
A demonstration outside the S. H. Kress store on the night of March 19, 1935 turned into widespread disorder after someone threw a rock through the store window. Rioters then attacked the store and numerous other white-owned properties throughout Harlem, while African American-owned homes and businesses were largely spared.
Three people died, hundreds were wounded, and approximately $2 million in property damage was recorded across the district. The riot prompted official investigations into conditions in Harlem and drew national attention to racial inequality and economic deprivation faced by African Americans in northern urban neighborhoods.
Political Outcome
Widespread destruction of white-owned property in Harlem; three deaths, hundreds wounded, and $2 million in damages; prompted official investigations into racial and economic conditions in the neighborhood.