Jewish merchants and property owners suffered some of the heaviest losses in the two days of rioting, arson and looting that shook Kansas City last week following the assassination of the Negro civil rights leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King, a survey by The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle showed. But there were no casualties among Jews and the prevailing opinion in the Jewish community is that organized anti-Semitism was not an important factor in the racial disorders the paper said. It pointed out that no Jewish places of worship were hit nor were any public buildings owned by Jewish organizations damaged. Many stores that were destroyed or looted were owned by Jews and some merchants said they were completely wiped out and are unable or unwilling to re-open their businesses.
Officials of the Community Relations Bureau of the Jewish Federation said that most of the stores were ravaged because of their location and the type of merchandise sold rather than because of any overt religious prejudice, the Jewish Chronicle said. Hart hit were stores selling groceries, auto parts, liquor and men’s wear. Jewish community leaders are considering means of helping to rehabilitate the store owners and others affected by the rioting, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
