July 22, 1964 - Violence broke out again last night in Harlem and the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn (pictured).
The new outbreaks followed a period of relative calm during the daylight hours. It was the fourth straight night of disturbances in Harlem and the second in Brooklyn.
Helmeted policemen fired warning shots over the heads of marauding Negro gangs around Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
About 1,000 rioters were involved in the incidents. The police called for reinforcements at 9 p.m., bringing the total fighting the outbreaks to 100.
Shortly before midnight, an emergency call went out for more ammunition. One policeman said he had fired 150 rounds.
The Transit Authority, at the request of the Police Department, closed the Franklin Avenue and the Nostrand Avenue stations of the IND at 10:46 p.m.
Plate-glass windows were broken at about 20 stores along Fulton, between Nostrand and Bedford Avenue.
The police said that at least 40 stores had been broken into along Fulton Street, Marcy Avenue, St. John’s Place, Nostrand Avenue, and nearby streets.
At least 25 persons were arrested, most on burglary and felonious assault charges.
“There doesn’t seem to be any particular gripe at the police,” one policeman said, “and they are not confronting the police — they’re just on a looting spree.”
One youth was arrested for looting a lamp store at 1333 Fulton Street. Another was arrested for throwing a bottle of flaming gasoline at a group of policemen at Franklin Avenue and Fulton Street.
By 1 a.m., the police reported that they had scattered most of the crowds but that they were still checking for looters.
The first Bedford-Stuyvesant rioting followed a rally at midnight Monday held by the Brooklyn branch of the Congress of Racial Equality. From 1:15 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., about 1,000 Negroes massed at the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Fulton Street.
Forty additional police were summoned to help the 20 there when the crowd became abusive.
Some of the policemen were Negroes. Shouts of “black cop, black cop” and “Uncle Tom” were directed at them.
A loud cheer arose when one demonstrator shouted, “Let’s get the Jews before this is over.”
The extra policemen were called when bottles were thrown at those at the scene. Shop windows were broken, some stores looted, and an unmarked police car burned before order was restored.
In another incident in Bedford-Stuyvesant, unrelated to the demonstration, two Negro men and two teenage Negro girls were arrested after shots were fired about 5 a.m. at a white cab driver. Policemen who rushed to his aid were assaulted.
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