Harlem Riot Of 1943
Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesAn overturned car burns in the street during the Harlem Riot of 1943.
Harmon LeonThe scene of the 1943 Harlem Riot at 126th Street and 8th Avenue, as seen in 2018.
Right around the corner from the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, a race riot took place on Aug. 1-2, 1943. The catalyst for the riot was the shooting of Robert Bandy, an African-American soldier who was wounded by a white police officer after Bandy witnessed a black woman’s unwarranted arrest at the Braddock Hotel – and sought to have her released.
In response to the Bandy shooting — and within the larger context of systemic racism — the riot escalated as frustrated African-Americans targeted white-owned properties and business across Harlem. In the end, some 495 people were injured and 500 were arrested with property damage estimated at $5 million.
In the years afterward, the events of the riot were recounted by such notable writers as James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and Malcolm X., helping this riot to live on as one of the most important riots in New York City history.
