Shaken To Its Core: Riots

Riots

Throughout history, America has gone through cycles in which rioting has been common place. Besides the 1960’s, the Great Depression was perhaps the prolific periods of riots. Where the protests and riots of the 1960’s were based on ideology, those of the Great Depression showed a near primal need of the people to be heard. Cross the country, people took to the streets for want of food, pay, and recognition.

One such example of people taking to the street was in January of 1931 in England, Arkansas. Early in the month, a neighbor of H.C Coney visited concerned about their inability to feed their family.

Coney, unable to help personally, decided that something could be done with the help of the Red Cross. With a loaded truck, Coney drove to the county seat of England. 

In England, Coney was met with little help from the Red Cross. Lacking the proper paper work to aid the farmers, the Red Cross drew the ire of the mob. Fearing a full fledge riot, local businesses opened their doors to foodstuffs for the needy families. 
News of the event spread with the help of a part time AP reporter who happened to be in town.  Hearing of the new, Will Rogers decided to raise money for the town and surrounding counties.  With that money, people like the neighbors of H.C Coney were able to survive until crops could again sustain them. 

Unlike the events in England, in February of 1931 riots in Minneapolis several hundred men and women smashed windows of stores in town.  Making off with foods, one storeowner promptly had is arm broken when he pulled a gun on the rioters.  Only after hundreds of police were brought in, did the rioters depressed.

Finally there is the story of the rent strikes that took place in the Bronx in January 1932.  Marshals and police had moved into to evict 17 tenants who had refused to pay rents as part of a strike.  As the marshals moved in, the crowd of nearly 4,000 began to attack.  It took the entire reserve police force of the Bronx to quall the riot. 

Needing to end the violence, landlords decided to lower rents by three dollars.  While the strike erupted in violence, the end goal was reached. After several more similar strikes, across New York City, a Blue Ribbon Panel was commissioned by the city council. 
It was finally concluded that rents were unfairly high for tennats to pay.  Over time, New York moved to legislate the increasing rents. Because of these measures, rent riots were nixed in New York City.