Remembering our Ability to Resist:
Harlem’s Race Riots, 1935-1964
The central hub of art, culture, and commerce in the state of New York, if not all of America, is New York City—especially Manhattan.
Introduction
The central hub of art, culture, and commerce in the state of New York, if not all of America, is New York City—especially Manhattan. Manhattan, along with The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, is one of the five boroughs that make up New York City. Even within the endless cosmos of NYC, Manhattan is a whole world all to itself. It has a wide array of cultures and ethnicities, arts and theater, and finance and trade. Unfortunately, all this diversity comes with a price. That price is, inevitably, conflict. The biggest conflict in Manhattan is the clash of race. This conflict was especially revealing in Harlem from the 1930s through the 1980s. Located on the upper northwest side of Manhattan, Harlem starts at 125th street. Harlem was, and for the most part still is, a mostly Black community—one of the only ones in Manhattan. Through the 30s until the 80s, Harlem was the home to lots of racial tension. Race has played a key role in Harlem’s history, especially racial inequality. Harlem is one of the only large Black communities in Manhattan making it geographically isolated from the other predominantly Black communities such as Brooklyn or The Bronx. As a result, Harlem is more connected to the majority of white Manhattan, and during the 1930s through the 1980s, the stark divisions between black and white were extremely deep. While watery boundaries divided the other black communities, Harlem took the full force of the racial tension in Manhattan. This tension sometimes took the form of a riot. A riot, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “a violent public disorder; specifically a tumultuous disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons assembled together and acting with a common intent.” Riots were quite frequent in Harlem and while some of these riots stemmed from economic destitution, race played a pivotal role in these riots formation. This tension acted like a powder keg doused in oil: one spark and Harlem would go up in flames, and riots would break out. One of the main contributors to the tension in Harlem were the police. African American writer James Baldwin highlighted the police incompetence in Harlem by saying, “Their [the police] very presence was an insult… Rare, indeed, is the Harlem citizen, from the most circumspect church member to the most shiftless adolescent, who does not have a long tale to tell of police incompetence, injustice, or brutality” (Baldwin 176.). Police brutality in Harlem and the riots that followed (throughout the 1930s-1980s) affected that neighborhood, its people, and its culture in both the long and short term by changing public perceptions of Harlem, feelings of safety of residents, and general economics of the neighborhood.
Section I
As the James Baldwin quote showcases, police-public relations in Harlem were not the most friendly. In fact, they were downright awful. This tension between the police and the public gave birth to quite a number of riots. Here are three riots that clearly had a profound effect on the community and revealed the strained police-public relations. These are the riots of 1935, 1943, and the infamous riots of 1964.
The riot of 1935 was the culmination of a series of very unfortunate events. One of the biggest factors that contributed to the riots was the distrust between police and the populus of Harlem. The riot started because an African American sixteen-year-old year old Lino Rivera, stole a pen knife from S.H. Kress dime store on 125th Street. This event culminated in a series of disastrous events in which the white store owner caught the boy and drove him to the basement. After this boy was driven to the basement, the police were soon called, but the store owner took pity on the boy and let him leave through a back door. Unfortunately, a crowd had gathered outside the store, so when the boy was not seen exiting the front door, rumor spread that the boy was being beaten by white police officers in the basement. Then the rumor developed into a disastrous conclusion: the boy had subsequently been beaten to death. An online Encyclopedia Britannica article about the 1935 riot states that, “No one told the crowd what had happened, and soon rumors spread that the police had killed Rivera. More than 10,000 people took to the streets to protest the perceived police brutality. Black frustration exploded into rioting.” These riots caused many stores to be damaged, and led to a great deal of injuries and arrests. According to an article by BlackPast.org, “ Overall, three African-Americans were killed and nearly 60 were injured and 75 were arrested by police. This riot caused over 200 million dollars in property damage,” the statistics just go to show how the tension and mistrust between the African American communities and police could result in potentially disastrous consequences. While the Riot of 1935 was sparked by rumors, this next riot was a direct result of police brutality and misconduct. This is the riot of 1943.
The Riot of 1943 stemmed from the shooting of Robert Brandy, an African American soldier in the U.S army, by white policeman James Collins. Officer Collins was detaining Marjorie Polite for disturbing the peace. Brandy observed the confrontation between Polite and Collins, and proceeded to confront the officer and demand the release of Polite. Brandy then hit Officer Collins with the policeman’s billy club and then fled the scene. Officer Collins reacted by taking out his revolver and shooting Brandy in the shoulder. Witnesses reported that the shooting happened after Brandy gave the club back to Collins. Despite whatever may have happened in the confrontation, Brandy was rushed to the hospital. Then, like the riot of 1935, rumors soon spread that Brandy was dead. The crowd of 3,000 people gathered outside the hospital then erupted, and by 10:30 p.m., a full scale riot had ensued. (Baruch.edu)
According to Baruch.edu, a total of 16,100 men were deployed to quell the violence; they were comprised of 6,600 civil police officers, 8,000 states guardsman, and some volunteers as well. According to a NYPD report, five African-Americans were killed by police and close to 400 people were injured. Damages caused by the riot were estimated to be as high as $5 million. During the riot, police arrested approximately 500 African-American men and women. (Baruch.edu). Officer Collins and Robert Brandy’s confrontation didn’t solely ignite the public outcry for justice. The riot exposed the underlying inequities that were already there. This riot highlighted the tensions between black soldiers and the white policeman during World War II, and how police brutality created a larger riot. However, this riot pales in comparison to the size of the next one, the riot of 1964.
The riot of 1964 was a whopper. On the morning of July 16 , lieutenant Thomas Gilligan, a white police officer, shot and killed, James Powell, a fifteen-year-old African American freshman who was attending summer school. Powell and his friends had been hanging out after school and were asked to stop loitering. There are several different testimonials of the events that next occurred. Gilligan and Powell came under direct confrontation and the officer stated that the young boy pulled a knife slashing him in the arm. At this point, Gilligan fired his gun and killed the teenager. He shot his gun three times, hitting Powell twice. Many in the community were outraged that a police officer with years of experience could not resolve the conflict without killing Powell, who was 5’4 and weighed 122 pounds. On an alarming note, I myself am 5'4 and 122 pounds. (Civil Rights Digital Library)
Powell’s shooting occurred in front of his friends and classmates, and news of his death quickly spread. After Powell’s funeral, outrage continued and subsequently caused six nights of riots in Harlem. According to the Civil Rights Digital Library, an estimated eight thousand Harlem residents took to the streets, breaking windows, setting fires, and looting local businesses. This violence spread to the nearby neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant and continued for six days. One resident died and hundreds were injured. The police arrested four hundred and fifty people. There was millions of dollars worth of damages from overturned cars, burned out buildings, and looted stores. (Civil Rights Digital Library)
Section II
These three Harlem riots all have one thing in common: catastrophic short-term implications. The Harlem neighborhoods saw widespread problems from massive looting and even immediate population decline. For those who stay behind, many feel fearful and anxious in a community where they once felt secure.
Looting is a big problem with the occurrence of riots and the three aforementioned riots, are no exception. Besides the obvious immediate impact of stolen goods, damaged stores, and scarce supplies, there are additional short-term effects. An Investopedia article on a riot’s impact on an economy states, “Riots also produce a clear disincentive for business owners to locate their operations in riot-prone areas. Who in their right mind builds a factory someplace where they fear there is some reasonable risk that it will be burnt to the ground? Riots are bad for property values, as people do not want to live in those areas and many property owners are hesitant to rebuild or repair in the aftermath.” This also accurately describes conditions in Harlem immediately following all three of these riots. Businesses moved out of the neighborhood, causing an economic vacuum, and paired with the devaluation of property, more financial insecurity resulted, which in turn, caused more riots. If this cycle is not broken, a good neighborhood could turn into a wasteland. In city neighborhoods that have experienced major riots, economists find that the median black family income dropped by about 9 percent from 1960 to 1970, compared with similar cities without severe riots. This impact on the labor market may have actually been more severe in the long run. (Postrel 2)
No one wants riots to occur. It's bad for the economy, as well as, the people. Dear Reader, if a mob of angry torch-and-pitchfork bearing crazed people rampaged through town, would you feel safe? If your answer is no, that is perfectly normal. A study of the victims of the 1992 Los Angeles riots states, “Results indicate that the majority of these riot victims underwent severe distress and experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.” Although was a different roit, the same psychological principles still apply. (Kim-Goh, et. al) This has disastrous consequences for neighborhoods. People are more reluctant to go outside their houses and buy daily goods and services stalling the economy of the neighborhood. All and all, the psychological impacts from such riots are not good, especially in Harlem where riots have exacerbated and worsened the relationships between African-Americans and police in the neighborhood.
In the 1960’s political leaders including governors and senators didn’t want rioting in their communities. So naturally, they tried to pass legislation to prevent such riots from occurring. The most famous legislation passed to curb riots was LBJ’s “War on Crime.” Lyndon B. Johnson, the United States President during the 1964 Harlem riot stated, “One of my political analysts tells me that every time one [a riot] occurs I lose 90,000 voters.” During the same period, Senator Barry Goldwater fanned the flames of racial hatred and blamed African-American leaders for causing the riots. LBJ's War on Crime and Barry Goldwater’s hateful speeches undermined the safety and sanctity of the African American community in Harlem. (Flamm, 2) Today, most scholars agree that the legacy of LBJ’s War on Crime coupled with Goldwater’s enduring endemic racism, in a nutshell, allowed for the incarceration of millions of African Americans.
Section III
The short term effects of riots can sometime develop into lasting conditions that plague communities. In the case of Harlem, the negative long term effects have been economic stagnation and psychological despair and overall poor public perception. Many businesses leave or are destroyed when violence occurs. When the time comes to rebuild, banks are wary to give out loans to new businesses. Rebuilding people’s trust is another matter. People who have lived through riots have psychological trauma. The continued, ongoing police profiling demonstrates a lack of trust. It causes continued stress and brings down public morale.
According to Dr. Thomas DeFrantz, Chair of African American Studies at Duke University, who responded to e-mail of inquiry, “The riots caused all sorts of physical damage to Harlem; much of it is still around.” He explains that, “only recently – in the last 10 years – has there been gentrification that has led to rebuilding some of the structures damaged in the riots.” It is truly incredible that over fifty years after the 1964 Harlem riots occurred the damaged structures and buildings are only now being repaired. This illustrates the magnitude of the Harlem riots and the lackluster response from officials in the government. According to Adams, instead of taking the initiative and providing money to help fix Harlem's failing infrastructure, developers swooped in and gentrified Harlem essentially kicking out the black majority. Analysts predict that Harlem will essentially become a majority white neighborhood in about twenty to thirty years. This would erase the rich black heritage in Harlem. (Adams)
Another long term effect of the Harlem riots is the psychological effect. As mentioned above, riots can result in post-traumatic stress disorder. This disorder is complicated and not easy to overcome. As previously stated, Professor DeFrantz notes, “the riots do affect the community even years later, as they are part of the story of what happened before. But young people in Harlem don’t necessarily know much about the riots; their parents often don’t tell the children everything about what happened, so that the children have a chance to grow up more innocent and excited about the future.” Parents who have struggled for years with stress try to shield their children from the destructive and debilitating affects of being exposed to riots.
Unfortunately, according to DeFrantz, there is still lingering racism in Harlem. He remarks, “Police profiling happens because people too easily judge others based on the information they know from media, and also because people have different approaches to encounters among each other.” He continues his insights, “So too many police judge citizens by the way they look and what they know from watching television. Also, too many police don’t live in the community that they serve; so police in Harlem don’t understand how people in Harlem live, and what sorts of relationships the citizens have.” Finally, DeFrantz confirms much of the historical record of police brutality. He states, “The police tend to treat all of the citizens as criminals. But we all know that only a few people are bad apples who commit crimes.”
DeFrantz’s assessment is also backed up by the 2015 NYPD police statistics. In all of the graphs, the majority of crimes, even petty crimes, such as the possession of firearms and public disruption are committed by African-Americans. It is these stats that contributes to the stigma that all African Americans are criminals, and in African American neighborhoods this can be especially devastating and demoralizing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, law enforcement’s lack of understanding during Harlem riots and subsequent police brutality have severely affected the neighborhood in the long and the short term. Looting caused great damage throughout the Harlem community, and the psychological effects that followed the riots caused people to have PTSD and other psychological symptoms. It has been demoralizing for the elderly who see their vibrant community diminished. Their cherished places such as stores, schools, and nightclubs vandalized. And, children who witness violence suffer from ill health. Legislation was passed as a direct result from the 1964 Harlem riots affected millions of African American lives around country. In the long-term, damage from looting still remains and many of the buildings that were damaged by the riots are only now being rebuilt. The psychological effects are still there. And police racial profiling is still a major issue in New York City. But throughout all of Harlem's challenges and hardships, it is still recognized as a wellspring of creativity and artistic innovation. Even though people in Harlem have seen economic disparity, they created the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most vibrant periods in American history. During the 1920’s and 30’s, artists, writers, poets and scholars came together to form an unparalleled intellectual movement. This movement helped, in a way, to revitalized the damage stricken Harlem community, and served as a touchstone for subsequent generations. For many Harlemites, the riots, as described by DeFrantz, are a way of challenging structural racism in American. He notes, “The riots are a part of how African Americans remember our ability to resist white supremacy and structural racism. So the riots do affect the community even years later, as they are part of the story of what happened before.” The people in Harlem didn't riot because they were out of control; rather, they rioted to protest a flawed and unjust system.
The central hub of art, culture, and commerce in the state of New York, if not all of America, is New York City—especially Manhattan. Manhattan, along with The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, is one of the five boroughs that make up New York City. Even within the endless cosmos of NYC, Manhattan is a whole world all to itself. It has a wide array of cultures and ethnicities, arts and theater, and finance and trade. Unfortunately, all this diversity comes with a price. That price is, inevitably, conflict. The biggest conflict in Manhattan is the clash of race. This conflict was especially revealing in Harlem from the 1930s through the 1980s. Located on the upper northwest side of Manhattan, Harlem starts at 125th street. Harlem was, and for the most part still is, a mostly Black community—one of the only ones in Manhattan. Through the 30s until the 80s, Harlem was the home to lots of racial tension. Race has played a key role in Harlem’s history, especially racial inequality. Harlem is one of the only large Black communities in Manhattan making it geographically isolated from the other predominantly Black communities such as Brooklyn or The Bronx. As a result, Harlem is more connected to the majority of white Manhattan, and during the 1930s through the 1980s, the stark divisions between black and white were extremely deep. While watery boundaries divided the other black communities, Harlem took the full force of the racial tension in Manhattan. This tension sometimes took the form of a riot. A riot, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “a violent public disorder; specifically a tumultuous disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons assembled together and acting with a common intent.” Riots were quite frequent in Harlem and while some of these riots stemmed from economic destitution, race played a pivotal role in these riots formation. This tension acted like a powder keg doused in oil: one spark and Harlem would go up in flames, and riots would break out. One of the main contributors to the tension in Harlem were the police. African American writer James Baldwin highlighted the police incompetence in Harlem by saying, “Their [the police] very presence was an insult… Rare, indeed, is the Harlem citizen, from the most circumspect church member to the most shiftless adolescent, who does not have a long tale to tell of police incompetence, injustice, or brutality” (Baldwin 176.). Police brutality in Harlem and the riots that followed (throughout the 1930s-1980s) affected that neighborhood, its people, and its culture in both the long and short term by changing public perceptions of Harlem, feelings of safety of residents, and general economics of the neighborhood.
Section I
As the James Baldwin quote showcases, police-public relations in Harlem were not the most friendly. In fact, they were downright awful. This tension between the police and the public gave birth to quite a number of riots. Here are three riots that clearly had a profound effect on the community and revealed the strained police-public relations. These are the riots of 1935, 1943, and the infamous riots of 1964.
The riot of 1935 was the culmination of a series of very unfortunate events. One of the biggest factors that contributed to the riots was the distrust between police and the populus of Harlem. The riot started because an African American sixteen-year-old year old Lino Rivera, stole a pen knife from S.H. Kress dime store on 125th Street. This event culminated in a series of disastrous events in which the white store owner caught the boy and drove him to the basement. After this boy was driven to the basement, the police were soon called, but the store owner took pity on the boy and let him leave through a back door. Unfortunately, a crowd had gathered outside the store, so when the boy was not seen exiting the front door, rumor spread that the boy was being beaten by white police officers in the basement. Then the rumor developed into a disastrous conclusion: the boy had subsequently been beaten to death. An online Encyclopedia Britannica article about the 1935 riot states that, “No one told the crowd what had happened, and soon rumors spread that the police had killed Rivera. More than 10,000 people took to the streets to protest the perceived police brutality. Black frustration exploded into rioting.” These riots caused many stores to be damaged, and led to a great deal of injuries and arrests. According to an article by BlackPast.org, “ Overall, three African-Americans were killed and nearly 60 were injured and 75 were arrested by police. This riot caused over 200 million dollars in property damage,” the statistics just go to show how the tension and mistrust between the African American communities and police could result in potentially disastrous consequences. While the Riot of 1935 was sparked by rumors, this next riot was a direct result of police brutality and misconduct. This is the riot of 1943.
The Riot of 1943 stemmed from the shooting of Robert Brandy, an African American soldier in the U.S army, by white policeman James Collins. Officer Collins was detaining Marjorie Polite for disturbing the peace. Brandy observed the confrontation between Polite and Collins, and proceeded to confront the officer and demand the release of Polite. Brandy then hit Officer Collins with the policeman’s billy club and then fled the scene. Officer Collins reacted by taking out his revolver and shooting Brandy in the shoulder. Witnesses reported that the shooting happened after Brandy gave the club back to Collins. Despite whatever may have happened in the confrontation, Brandy was rushed to the hospital. Then, like the riot of 1935, rumors soon spread that Brandy was dead. The crowd of 3,000 people gathered outside the hospital then erupted, and by 10:30 p.m., a full scale riot had ensued. (Baruch.edu)
According to Baruch.edu, a total of 16,100 men were deployed to quell the violence; they were comprised of 6,600 civil police officers, 8,000 states guardsman, and some volunteers as well. According to a NYPD report, five African-Americans were killed by police and close to 400 people were injured. Damages caused by the riot were estimated to be as high as $5 million. During the riot, police arrested approximately 500 African-American men and women. (Baruch.edu). Officer Collins and Robert Brandy’s confrontation didn’t solely ignite the public outcry for justice. The riot exposed the underlying inequities that were already there. This riot highlighted the tensions between black soldiers and the white policeman during World War II, and how police brutality created a larger riot. However, this riot pales in comparison to the size of the next one, the riot of 1964.
The riot of 1964 was a whopper. On the morning of July 16 , lieutenant Thomas Gilligan, a white police officer, shot and killed, James Powell, a fifteen-year-old African American freshman who was attending summer school. Powell and his friends had been hanging out after school and were asked to stop loitering. There are several different testimonials of the events that next occurred. Gilligan and Powell came under direct confrontation and the officer stated that the young boy pulled a knife slashing him in the arm. At this point, Gilligan fired his gun and killed the teenager. He shot his gun three times, hitting Powell twice. Many in the community were outraged that a police officer with years of experience could not resolve the conflict without killing Powell, who was 5’4 and weighed 122 pounds. On an alarming note, I myself am 5'4 and 122 pounds. (Civil Rights Digital Library)
Powell’s shooting occurred in front of his friends and classmates, and news of his death quickly spread. After Powell’s funeral, outrage continued and subsequently caused six nights of riots in Harlem. According to the Civil Rights Digital Library, an estimated eight thousand Harlem residents took to the streets, breaking windows, setting fires, and looting local businesses. This violence spread to the nearby neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant and continued for six days. One resident died and hundreds were injured. The police arrested four hundred and fifty people. There was millions of dollars worth of damages from overturned cars, burned out buildings, and looted stores. (Civil Rights Digital Library)
Section II
These three Harlem riots all have one thing in common: catastrophic short-term implications. The Harlem neighborhoods saw widespread problems from massive looting and even immediate population decline. For those who stay behind, many feel fearful and anxious in a community where they once felt secure.
Looting is a big problem with the occurrence of riots and the three aforementioned riots, are no exception. Besides the obvious immediate impact of stolen goods, damaged stores, and scarce supplies, there are additional short-term effects. An Investopedia article on a riot’s impact on an economy states, “Riots also produce a clear disincentive for business owners to locate their operations in riot-prone areas. Who in their right mind builds a factory someplace where they fear there is some reasonable risk that it will be burnt to the ground? Riots are bad for property values, as people do not want to live in those areas and many property owners are hesitant to rebuild or repair in the aftermath.” This also accurately describes conditions in Harlem immediately following all three of these riots. Businesses moved out of the neighborhood, causing an economic vacuum, and paired with the devaluation of property, more financial insecurity resulted, which in turn, caused more riots. If this cycle is not broken, a good neighborhood could turn into a wasteland. In city neighborhoods that have experienced major riots, economists find that the median black family income dropped by about 9 percent from 1960 to 1970, compared with similar cities without severe riots. This impact on the labor market may have actually been more severe in the long run. (Postrel 2)
No one wants riots to occur. It's bad for the economy, as well as, the people. Dear Reader, if a mob of angry torch-and-pitchfork bearing crazed people rampaged through town, would you feel safe? If your answer is no, that is perfectly normal. A study of the victims of the 1992 Los Angeles riots states, “Results indicate that the majority of these riot victims underwent severe distress and experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.” Although was a different roit, the same psychological principles still apply. (Kim-Goh, et. al) This has disastrous consequences for neighborhoods. People are more reluctant to go outside their houses and buy daily goods and services stalling the economy of the neighborhood. All and all, the psychological impacts from such riots are not good, especially in Harlem where riots have exacerbated and worsened the relationships between African-Americans and police in the neighborhood.
In the 1960’s political leaders including governors and senators didn’t want rioting in their communities. So naturally, they tried to pass legislation to prevent such riots from occurring. The most famous legislation passed to curb riots was LBJ’s “War on Crime.” Lyndon B. Johnson, the United States President during the 1964 Harlem riot stated, “One of my political analysts tells me that every time one [a riot] occurs I lose 90,000 voters.” During the same period, Senator Barry Goldwater fanned the flames of racial hatred and blamed African-American leaders for causing the riots. LBJ's War on Crime and Barry Goldwater’s hateful speeches undermined the safety and sanctity of the African American community in Harlem. (Flamm, 2) Today, most scholars agree that the legacy of LBJ’s War on Crime coupled with Goldwater’s enduring endemic racism, in a nutshell, allowed for the incarceration of millions of African Americans.
Section III
The short term effects of riots can sometime develop into lasting conditions that plague communities. In the case of Harlem, the negative long term effects have been economic stagnation and psychological despair and overall poor public perception. Many businesses leave or are destroyed when violence occurs. When the time comes to rebuild, banks are wary to give out loans to new businesses. Rebuilding people’s trust is another matter. People who have lived through riots have psychological trauma. The continued, ongoing police profiling demonstrates a lack of trust. It causes continued stress and brings down public morale.
According to Dr. Thomas DeFrantz, Chair of African American Studies at Duke University, who responded to e-mail of inquiry, “The riots caused all sorts of physical damage to Harlem; much of it is still around.” He explains that, “only recently – in the last 10 years – has there been gentrification that has led to rebuilding some of the structures damaged in the riots.” It is truly incredible that over fifty years after the 1964 Harlem riots occurred the damaged structures and buildings are only now being repaired. This illustrates the magnitude of the Harlem riots and the lackluster response from officials in the government. According to Adams, instead of taking the initiative and providing money to help fix Harlem's failing infrastructure, developers swooped in and gentrified Harlem essentially kicking out the black majority. Analysts predict that Harlem will essentially become a majority white neighborhood in about twenty to thirty years. This would erase the rich black heritage in Harlem. (Adams)
Another long term effect of the Harlem riots is the psychological effect. As mentioned above, riots can result in post-traumatic stress disorder. This disorder is complicated and not easy to overcome. As previously stated, Professor DeFrantz notes, “the riots do affect the community even years later, as they are part of the story of what happened before. But young people in Harlem don’t necessarily know much about the riots; their parents often don’t tell the children everything about what happened, so that the children have a chance to grow up more innocent and excited about the future.” Parents who have struggled for years with stress try to shield their children from the destructive and debilitating affects of being exposed to riots.
Unfortunately, according to DeFrantz, there is still lingering racism in Harlem. He remarks, “Police profiling happens because people too easily judge others based on the information they know from media, and also because people have different approaches to encounters among each other.” He continues his insights, “So too many police judge citizens by the way they look and what they know from watching television. Also, too many police don’t live in the community that they serve; so police in Harlem don’t understand how people in Harlem live, and what sorts of relationships the citizens have.” Finally, DeFrantz confirms much of the historical record of police brutality. He states, “The police tend to treat all of the citizens as criminals. But we all know that only a few people are bad apples who commit crimes.”
DeFrantz’s assessment is also backed up by the 2015 NYPD police statistics. In all of the graphs, the majority of crimes, even petty crimes, such as the possession of firearms and public disruption are committed by African-Americans. It is these stats that contributes to the stigma that all African Americans are criminals, and in African American neighborhoods this can be especially devastating and demoralizing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, law enforcement’s lack of understanding during Harlem riots and subsequent police brutality have severely affected the neighborhood in the long and the short term. Looting caused great damage throughout the Harlem community, and the psychological effects that followed the riots caused people to have PTSD and other psychological symptoms. It has been demoralizing for the elderly who see their vibrant community diminished. Their cherished places such as stores, schools, and nightclubs vandalized. And, children who witness violence suffer from ill health. Legislation was passed as a direct result from the 1964 Harlem riots affected millions of African American lives around country. In the long-term, damage from looting still remains and many of the buildings that were damaged by the riots are only now being rebuilt. The psychological effects are still there. And police racial profiling is still a major issue in New York City. But throughout all of Harlem's challenges and hardships, it is still recognized as a wellspring of creativity and artistic innovation. Even though people in Harlem have seen economic disparity, they created the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most vibrant periods in American history. During the 1920’s and 30’s, artists, writers, poets and scholars came together to form an unparalleled intellectual movement. This movement helped, in a way, to revitalized the damage stricken Harlem community, and served as a touchstone for subsequent generations. For many Harlemites, the riots, as described by DeFrantz, are a way of challenging structural racism in American. He notes, “The riots are a part of how African Americans remember our ability to resist white supremacy and structural racism. So the riots do affect the community even years later, as they are part of the story of what happened before.” The people in Harlem didn't riot because they were out of control; rather, they rioted to protest a flawed and unjust system.
Works Cited
Adams, Michael Henry. "The End of Black Harlem." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 27 May 2016. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Baldwin, James. Nobody Knows My Name. New York (N.Y.): Delta, 1962. Print.
DeFrantz, Thomas. Letter to the author. 12 March 2017. TS.
"Disasters. NYCdata: Harlem Race Riots of 1943.” Baruch.edu N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
“New York Race Riots." Civil Rights Digital Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Flamm, Michael W. "The Legacy of the 1964 Harlem Riot." The New York Times. The New
York Times, 15 July 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Simpson, CFA Stephen D. "How Riots Influence An Economy." Investopedia. N.p., 12 Dec.,
2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Postrel, Virginia. "The Consequences of the 1960's Race Riots Come Into View." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 30 Dec. 2004. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
"NYPD Report - Crime and Enforcement Activity in New York City." NYPD Report - Crime
and Enforcement Activity in New York City. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Kim‐Goh, Mikyong, Chong Suh, Dudley David Blake, and Bruce Hiley‐Young.
"PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF THE LOS ANGELES RIOTS ON KOREAN‐AMERICAN
VICTIMS: Implications for Treatment." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 24 Mar. 2010. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.
Adams, Michael Henry. "The End of Black Harlem." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 27 May 2016. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Baldwin, James. Nobody Knows My Name. New York (N.Y.): Delta, 1962. Print.
DeFrantz, Thomas. Letter to the author. 12 March 2017. TS.
"Disasters. NYCdata: Harlem Race Riots of 1943.” Baruch.edu N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
“New York Race Riots." Civil Rights Digital Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Flamm, Michael W. "The Legacy of the 1964 Harlem Riot." The New York Times. The New
York Times, 15 July 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Simpson, CFA Stephen D. "How Riots Influence An Economy." Investopedia. N.p., 12 Dec.,
2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Postrel, Virginia. "The Consequences of the 1960's Race Riots Come Into View." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 30 Dec. 2004. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
"NYPD Report - Crime and Enforcement Activity in New York City." NYPD Report - Crime
and Enforcement Activity in New York City. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Kim‐Goh, Mikyong, Chong Suh, Dudley David Blake, and Bruce Hiley‐Young.
"PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF THE LOS ANGELES RIOTS ON KOREAN‐AMERICAN
VICTIMS: Implications for Treatment." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 24 Mar. 2010. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.