How the Death of a Black Teenager in New York Led to Harlem Race Riots

Eight years later, a Black soldier was shot by a white police officer, inciting another riot.

In 1943, a Black woman named Marjorie Polite was being arrested for disorderly conduct when a Black soldier, Robert Bandy, stepped in to help.

Bandy and his mother said they were just trying to stop James Collins, the white officer that was called to the scene, from shoving or beating Polite. When Collins opened fire, Bandy was shot and wounded.

An official police report of the incident from the New York Police Department said that Bandy attacked Collins.