Post #4328894

Today in Labor History August 1, 1842: The Lombard Street riot, a three-day race riot, occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the last riot in a 13-year period of violent racist attacks in the city. In the early 19th century, large numbers of freed and fugitive slaves immigrated to Philadelphia. During that time, the city's black population grew over 50%. There were also growing numbers of Irish immigrants who were also subjected to racism and exclusion. Abd there was a great deal of competition between marginalized groups for jobs and economic survival, which contributed to these periodic outbreaks of racial, ethnic, and religious violence occurred among Irish Catholics, German Protestants, blacks, and sometimes even pacifist Quakers. On the morning of August 1, 1842, the black Young Men's Vigilant Association held a parade of over 1,000 people on Philadelphia's Lombard Street. They were commemorating the eighth anniversary of the end of slavery in the British West Indies. An Irish Catholic mob attacked them, setting fires and attacking firefighters and police. The cops arrested several of the victims, but none of the perpetrators. Over the course of three days, rioters looted and burned the Second African American Presbyterian Church, the abolitionist Smith's Hall, and many homes and public buildings. Eventually, they called in the militia to restore order. #workingclass #LaborHistory #racism #riots #philadelphia #slavery #irish #immigration #catholic #BlackMastodon