Research Presentation- Harlem Race Riots impact

Presented by Menen gowdie

"A riot is the language of the unheard"

POWERFUL QUOTE

Martin Luther King Jr.

Harlem Race Riots (1935, 1943, and 1967)

• 125 people were arrested
• more than 100 people had been injured
• Three individuals were dead

• Property damage close to 200 stores was in excess of $2 million

What was the outcome?

Harlem Race riot of 1935

• Occurred in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem on March 19-20, 1935
• Sparked by the event of a Black Puerto Rican teenager accused of stealing a penknife from a store
• A false rumor spreaded throughout city stating that he was beaten to death by police officers

How did it begin?

Harlem Race riot of 1935 became headlined in New York Daily News, on March 20th

• Black and Puerto Rican
• 16 years old
• Thrown away alive in store

Lino Rvera

Private Robert Bandy

• African American military policeman and soldier based in New Jersey
• 26 years old
• Treated at a hospital for superfical wounds tary

• 6 people died
• 495 people were injured
• More than 500 people were arrested
• The value of damage caused was estimated at $5 million

• This event was recalled by African Americans writers such as James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Claude Brown, and Malcolm X.

What was the outcome?

Harlem Race riot of 1943

• Occurred in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem on August 1-2, 1943
• Sparked by the event of an African American soldier shot and wounded by a white police officer after attempting to intervene in the arrest of an African-American woman
• A supposed rumor swirled through the town that the soldier was shot and killed which led to another riot outbreak

How did it begin?

What was the outcome?

Harlem Race riot of 1964

How did it begin?

• People gathered to protest police brutaility
• Remained calm for two days until day three in which things got out of control
• The riots spreaded to Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville
• 24 claims were filed
• Over $1 million in damages
• Over 450 people were arrested
• More than 100 people injured
• One person died
• This riot later foreshadowed other riots that took place in Rochester, New York; Dixmoor, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jersey City, Paterson, and Elizabeth, New Jersey.

• Occurred in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem on July 18, 1964
• Sparked by the event of an African American 15 year old shot and killed by an off-duty white police officer named Thomas Gilligan after alleging that Powell was wielding a knife at him
• The riots lasted for six days
• This event occurred two weeks later after the Civil Rights Act was signed into law on July 2nd of 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson

Continued

African American youths holds up "Wanted for Murder" posters calling for white police Lieutenant Thomas Gilligan's arrest.

research question

In what ways has the Harlem Race Riots influenced the voice and artistry of prominent African Americans such as James Baldwin and Faith Ringgold?

Notes of a Native Son Essay Connection

"All over Harlem, Negro boys and girls are growing into stunted maturity, trying desperately to find a place to stand; and the wonder is not that so many are ruined but that so many survive." - James Baldwin

It is such a symbolic essay written by Baldwin and brutally expressed by someone who did not think he would also be subjected to racism and injustice his fellow Black and brown brothers and sisters endured. Not only does this essay open a discussion about the surrounding factors of inequality executed in Harlem, NY but it captures the story of a young boy who struggled with creating a sense of belonging for himself and the polished identity he formed because of his father's tragic death. In conjunction with the Harlem Race Riot, Baldwin automatically draws the attention of the reader to the tragedy that was occurring in Harlem at that time and how it spoke to him as a young man having the realization of what it means to be Black and it often determined what job he got, the position he held, the amount of stripping away the rights of Black people to their business facilities.

How has the Harlem Race Riots influence the voice and artistry of James Baldwin?

Attitude and style

He is brutally honest in his writing and wants his audience to feel what he is saying. He wants them to experience the experiences he describes so effectively in many of his literary works.

Baldwin's writing pieces establish a distinctive style. Baldwin is known for his metaphor and symbolism, as well as his direct, confrontational tone. He often writes about African Americans' experiences, and his works focus on race, identity, and social justice. His approach is versatile, emphasizing diverse themes about racism and injustice faced by African Americans since the 1960s. In addition, he captures his personal experiences to shed light on Harlem, NY, and the communities that exist.

How has the Harlem Race Riots influence the vice and artistry of Faith Ringgold?

"I'm not going to see riots and not paint them."- Faith Ringgold

It was Ringgold's belief that she would be able to publish her writing if it was constructed in textile form using quilts as the only way to do so. In the context of the Harlem Race Riots, she constructed an art piece that she envisioned would show the aftermath of rioting in Harlem, New York. In fact, this 1967 piece was inspired by the infamous painter Pablo Picasso in terms of resistance and fighting between opposing forces. This was a way of expressing the violence and oppression faced in the horrors of police brutality and unfair treatment done by law enforcement.

American Carnage Depiction

What did I learn new about my research?As I learned more about Faith Ringgold, I learned she has a lot of confidence in exposing the truth about America's carnage and devious agenda of keeping black people and people of color in slavery as long as possible. She captures the seriousness of the rioting and how it symbolizes the voices kept silent for a long time. This is done in her quilts and art paintings.

Topic:I was confident in what I wanted to doSetbacks:Time

Original Research Question:What does it mean to be Black in White America?Revised Research Question:In what ways has the Harlem Race Riots influenced the voice and artistry of prominent African Americans such as James Baldwin and Faith Ringgold?

Research Process:

Thank you all for listening!

Any questions/Comments?

Works Cited

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