Editing Peekskill riots (section)

===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"/>}}