Hard Scrabble (Addison Hollow) and Snow Town were two
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
neighborhoods located in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...
in the nineteenth century. They were also the sites of
race riots
An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's positi ...
in which
working-class whites
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as ...
destroyed multiple black homes in 1824 and 1831, respectively.
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Hard Scrabble
Hard Scrabble was a predominantly black neighborhood in northwestern Providence in the early 19th century. Away from the town center, its inexpensive rents attracted working class free blacks, poor people of all races and marginalized businesses such as saloons
Saloon may refer to:
Buildings and businesses
* One of the bars in a traditional British pub
* An alternative name for a bar (establishment)
* Western saloon, a historical style of American bar
* The Saloon, a bar and music venue in San Francisc ...
and houses of prostitution. Tensions developed between the residents of Hard Scrabble and other residents of Providence. Hard Scrabble was one of several similar neighborhoods in urban centers in the Northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
where free blacks gathered to further themselves socially and economically. Other African American communities created in cities with growing job markets in the same time period include the northern slope of Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
’s Beacon Hill, Little Liberia in Bridgeport, Connecticut and Sandy Ground on New York’s Staten Island.
On October 18, 1824, a white mob attacked black homes in Hard Scrabble, after a black man refused to get off the sidewalk when approached by some whites. Although the mob claimed to be targeting places of ill-repute, it destroyed buildings indiscriminately. Hundreds of whites destroyed approximately 20 black homes. Four people were tried for rioting, but only one was found guilty.
Snow Town
After the Hard Scrabble riot, the Snow Town neighborhood rose in roughly the same area. It was another interracial neighborhood where free blacks and poor whites lived among crime and marginal businesses. In 1831 more riots took place in Snow Town, one triggered by the shooting death of a sailor. Once again, the mob destroyed many homes, targeting black homes even though the people living in them had no apparent ties to the shooting, spilling over into nearby Olney Street. This time, the militia was called out, and it killed four white rioters.
Political fallout
The Hardscrabble Riot had engendered little media sympathy for its victims. But by the time of the Snow Town riot, leading citizens and journalists took the problem far more seriously.[Crouch, "Providence Newspapers and the Racist Riots of 1824 and 1831" http://patriot.net/~crouch/artj/riot.html ] After the Snow Town riot, written opinion approved of suppressing rioters to maintain order, and Providence voters approved a charter for a city government containing strong police powers.[
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Location and memorialization
The exact location of the Hard Scrabble and Snow Town neighborhoods within northwestern Providence has been a matter of some dispute, which complicated efforts to memorialize Hard Scrabble. Richard Lobban, professor at Rhode Island College and the Naval War College
The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...
, believed the riot took place on what is now the State House lawn while Ted Sanderson, executive director of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission
The Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, often called RIHPHC, is an agency run by the state of Rhode Island that aims to preserve the state's history and heritage. The commission works statewide to protect and upkeep histo ...
said his research showed that the Hard Scrabble neighborhood was located around the base of Olney Street. In 2006, a memorial plaque was installed in a grass-covered traffic island at the corner of North Main and Canal Streets near the State House.[ A memorial for the Snow Town riot is located nearby at the Roger Williams National Memorial.][
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See also
*History of Providence, Rhode Island
The Rhode Island city of Providence has a nearly 400-year history integral to that of the United States, including significance in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the American Revolutionary War by providing leadership and fighting strength, qu ...
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{Riots in the United States (1607–1865)
African-American history of Rhode Island
Ethnic enclaves in Rhode Island
History of Providence, Rhode Island
Populated places established by African Americans
Racially motivated violence against African Americans
Riots and civil disorder in Rhode Island
White American riots in the United States