Editing Peekskill riots (section)

==First concert==
The concert, organized as a benefit for the [[Civil Rights Congress]], was scheduled to take place on August 27 in Lakeland Acres, just north of Peekskill. Before Robeson arrived, a mob of locals attacked concert-goers with baseball bats and rocks. The local police arrived hours later and did little to intervene. Thirteen people were seriously injured, Robeson was lynched in effigy, and a cross was seen burning on an adjacent hillside. The concert was then postponed until September 4.<ref>Ford, Carin T. Paul Robeson: "I Want to Make Freedom Ring"</ref> Following the concert, request for Klan memberships from the Peekskill area numbered 748 persons.<ref>Robeson, Paul Jr. ''The Undiscovered Robeson: Quest For Freedom'', pp. 169–170 Chapter 9 2008.</ref>

Robeson's longtime friend and Peekskill resident, Helen Rosen, who had agreed to collect Robeson at the train station, had heard on the radio that protesters were massing at the concert grounds. Robeson drove with Rosen and two others to the concert site and saw marauding groups of youngsters, a burning cross on a nearby hill and a jeering crowd throwing rocks and chanting "Dirty Commie" and "Dirty Kikes."<ref>Duberman, Martin. ''Paul Robeson'' Peekskill, p. 365</ref> Robeson made more than one attempt to get out of the car and confront the mob but was restrained by his friends.<ref name="Ford, Carin T. 2008">Ford, Carin T. ''Paul Robeson:I Want to Make Freedom Ring'', pp. 97–98 Chapter 9, 2008.</ref>

The media were flooded with reactions and charges. The Joint Veterans Council of Peekskill refused to admit any involvement, describing its activities as a "protest parade...held without disorder and...perfectly disbanded." Peekskill police officials said the picnic grounds had been outside their jurisdiction;<ref name="Ford, Carin T. 2008"/> a state police spokesman said there had never been a request for state troopers. The commander of Peekskill Post 274 of the [[American Legion]] stated: "Our objective was to prevent the Paul Robeson concert and I think our objective was reached."<ref name="Duberman, Martin, p. 366">Duberman, Martin. ''Paul Robeson'' Peekskill, p. 366</ref>

===Meetings to protest the first riot===
Following a meeting of local citizens, union members, and Robeson supporters who formed The Westchester Committee for Law and Order, it unanimously was determined that Robeson should be invited back to perform at Peekskill. Representatives from various left wing unions - the [[International Fur & Leather Workers Union|Fur and Leather Workers]], the [[Longshoremen]] and the [[United Electrical Workers]] - all agreed to converge and serve as a wall of defense around the concert grounds. Ten union men slept on the property of the Rosens, effectively guarding it.<ref name="Duberman, Martin, p. 366"/> A call was put out by the Emergency Committee to Protest the Peekskill Riot. On Tuesday, August 30, an overflow crowd of 3,000 people assembled peacefully and without incident at the [[Golden Gate Ballroom]] in Harlem to hear Robeson speak,<ref name="Duberman, Martin, p. 367">Duberman, Martin. ''Paul Robeson'' Peekskill, p. 367</ref>

{{blockquote|I will be loyal to America of true traditions; to the America of the [[abolitionists]], of [[Harriet Tubman]], of [[Thaddeus Stevens]], of those who fought for my people's freedom, not of those who tried to enslave them. And I will have no loyalty to the [[James Forrestal|Forrestals]], to the [[W. Averell Harriman|Harrimans]], to the [[Wall Street|WallStreeters]]... the surest way to get police protection is to have it very clear that we'll protect ourselves, and good!... I'll be back with my friends in Peekskill...<ref name="Duberman, Martin, p. 367"/>}}