The Peekskill Riots Episode One: “The Mighty Oak in the Forest”
Tompkins Corners Cultural Center 729 Peekskill Hollow Rd, Putnam Valley, NYOn August 27th and September 4th, 1949, violence broke out at two concerts held outside Peekskill, NY, headlined by black singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson. Citizens of Peekskill, galvanized by racist and anti-Semitic sentiments and disdain for Robeson’s left-wing views and campaign for civil rights, started two riots that resulted in hundreds of injuries, […]