Liberty Ships, Closed Doors · Episode 11 of 13 · 28 min
1943: The Year It Boiled Over
The wartime migration did not happen calmly, and in 1943 it boiled over. White mobs and hate strikes struck Black workers in Detroit, Mobile and Beaumont, Harlem rose against police violence, and servicemen beat Mexican American youth in Los Angeles. Dozens died and hundreds were hurt, and the racial order decided who did the killing and who did the dying.
Where it happens
- Detroit, Michigan+7 more episodesRace riot of June 20-22, 1943 left 34 dead
- Mobile, AlabamaADDSCO shipyard riot after Black welders were upgraded
- Beaumont, Texas+1 more episodeShipyard boomtown convulsed by riot in June 1943
- Harlem, New YorkBlack uprising against police violence in August 1943
- Los Angeles, California+13 more episodesZoot Suit Riots in June 1943
Timeline
- May 24-25, 1943Mobile shipyard riot
- June 3-8, 1943Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles
- June 15-16, 1943Beaumont riot
- June 20-22, 1943Detroit race riot; 34 dead
- August 1-2, 1943Harlem riot; about six dead
Still debated
Sources differ on the Beaumont death toll and the Mobile toll is limited or disputed. Harlem's riot was a Black uprising against police violence aimed at property, not a white-initiated attack, and false rumors repeatedly escalated the violence.