Philadelphia 1964 race riot

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The Philadelphia race riot took place in the predominantly black neighborhoods of North Philadelphia from August 28 to August 30, 1964.

Tensions between black residents of the city and police had been escalating for several months over several well-publicized allegations of police brutality.

The unrest began on the evening of August 28 after a black woman named Odessa Bradford got into an argument with two police officers (one white, one black). Bradford's car had stalled at 23rd Street and Columbia Avenue. After Bradford refused to comply with the two officers' orders to move the car, because the car had stalled, and she was unable to drive it, an argument ensued. The officers then tried to physically remove Bradford from the car. She resisted and a large crowd assembled in the area. A man tried to come to Bradford's aid by attacking the police officers at the scene, but he and Bradford were arrested.

Rumors then spread throughout North Philadelphia that a pregnant black woman had been beaten to death by white police officers. Later that evening, and throughout the next two days, angry mobs looted and burned mostly white-owned businesses in North Philadelphia, mainly along Columbia Avenue. Outnumbered, the police response was to withdraw from the area rather than aggressively confront the rioters.

Although no one was killed, 341 people were injured, 774 people were arrested and 225 stores were damaged or destroyed in the three days of rioting.

Business activity in North Philadelphia declined even further after the riots, as many of the damaged or destroyed stores never re-opened for business. The riots also helped to facilitate the political rise to power of Frank Rizzo, who favored more punitive approaches to crime.

In 1987, Columbia Avenue between Front and 33rd Streets was renamed Cecil B. Moore Avenue after the influential and often controversial Civil Rights leader. Although his role was limited, Moore has been regarded as a pacifying figure who helped quell the rioting. While present-day Cecil B. Moore Avenue is still largely impoverished, it has witnessed redevelopment, including expansion of the Temple University campus, such that the area around Broad Street is much more integrated. The Brewerytown neighborhood has also been suggested as a possible site of gentrification.

This riot was one of the first in the civil rights era and followed the Rochester race riot and the New York City race riot.

[edit] See also

[edit] Trivia

A fictionalized version of the events of the Philadelphia riots of 1964 are depicted in the first season finale of the NBC television show American Dreams.