March 19, 1935

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A store owner and a policeman survey a shattered glass window and the interior of the show window of a store at Seventh Ave. and 125th Street. Harlem, New York.

The Harlem riot of 1935 took place on March 19, 1935 during the Great Depression, in New York City, New York, in the United States. It has been described as the first "modern" race riot in Harlem, because it was committed primarily against property rather than persons. Harlem is a northern neighborhood on Manhattan Island in New York City whose population at the time was predominately African American.

The rioting was sparked by rumors that a black Puerto Rican teenage shoplifter was beaten by employees at an S. H. Kress "five and dime" store. That evening, a demonstration was held outside the store and, after someone threw a rock through the window, more general destruction of the store and other white-owned properties ensued. Three people died, hundreds were wounded, and an estimated $2 million in damages was caused to properties throughout the district. Homes and businesses owned by African-Americans were spared the worst of the destruction.