Harlem Riot of 1964 - The Incident

The Incident

The events of the Harlem Riot of 1964 are based on the writings of two white newspaper reporters, Fred C. Shapiro and James W. Sullivan. They assembled testimonies from other reporters and from residents of each boroughs as well as they testified by their presence at the riots.

Constantly annoyed by the presence of young students on his stoops, Patrick Lynch, the superintendent of three apartment houses in Yorkville, an upper-class white area on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, voluntarily hosed down the black students while insulting them according to them: “Dirty niggers, I'll wash you clean”; this statement had been denied by Lynch. The angry wet black students started to pick up bottles and garbage-can lids and threw them at the superintendent. It instantly drew the attention of three Bronx boys, including James Powell. Lynch then retreated to the inside of the building pursued by Powell, which according to a witness, “didn't stay two minutes.” As Powell exited the vestibule, Lieutenant Thomas Gilligan (off-duty), who witnessed the scene from a nearby shop, ran to the scene and shot the 15 year-old James Powell three times. The first round, said to be the warning shot, hit the apartment's window. The next shot hit Powell in the right forearm reaching the main artery just above the heart. The bullet lodged in his lungs. Finally, the last one went through his abdomen and out of his back. The autopsy concluded to the fatality of the chest wound in almost any circumstances. However, the pathologist said that Powell could have been saved suffering only the abdominal perforation with a fast response of the ambulance. The sequence of events is still unclear on many aspects such as the spacing of the shots and, more importantly, Powell's possession of a knife.