workingclasshistory:

On this day, 19 March 1935, the Harlem Uprising of 1935 took place. The Great Depression had already disaffected working class people across the world, but with segregation and racial inequalities in the United States, life was particularly challenging for Black people.
Harlem, despite being the center of vibrant artistic and social movements, was no different; forces such as government neglect, employment discrimination, unemployment, poverty, and police brutality created the conditions for an outburst to be inevitable.
Events began with a perceived act of police brutality surrounding Lino Riveira, a 16-year-old Black Puerto Rican boy who was caught stealing a pen knife from a shop. The owner called the police, and by the time they arrived a crowd had begun to gather. Rumours soon spread that Riviera - despite being let go - was killed by police and soon thousands took to the streets. A demonstration organised by the Young Liberators and the Young Communist League would be declared an “unlawful assemblage” by police and soon demonstrations escalated, with participants expropriating goods from stores (“looting”) and damaging property.
The uprising caused about $200 million in damages and about 200 businesses were affected. In the end, 125 were arrested, around 100 were injured and three were killed – all of them Black. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1945711742280633/?type=3