Philadelphia Race Riot

Date: August 12, 1834 • Location: Center City, United States

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1834.

A race riot in Philadelphia, United States, destroyed African-American businesses and killed two people.

A race riot took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States in August 1834. The riot, in which a mob of several hundred white people attacked African Americans living in the area, began on the evening of August 12 and lasted for several days, dying down from August 14 to 16.