History-Sam+Trejo

The historical element that I chose to talk about, is about the violence in the streets of Harlem in the 1940's. C onditions in The historical element that I chose to talk about, is about the violence in the streets of Harlem in the 1940's. Harlem around this time were very rough especially for those who lived there. Apartments were crowded, dirty, and small; they had small rooms that were filthy and old. The city streets were the same. There was unemployment, poverty, high mortality rates, and of course violence. Violence had always been very common in this struggling New York neighborhood. Many riots were caused by the struggles of the Harlem life which would end in many people being killed. Another reason for the violence was gangs around the neighborhood. By 1940 there were about 100 murders a year. “Three teen-age youth’s were committed to the Tombs without bail yesterday in the Felony Court on a homicide charge growing out of a bitter feud between two groups of boy gangsters in Harlem (Amsterdam News 1945)”. This was one thing parent’s rarely worried about. But then there were those who wanted to get out of the struggle and move out of the neighborhood. Around this time there were many single parents, the majority single mothers.