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William Ken assaulted
When this alleged assault took place is not reported. This section of Lenox Ave north of 125th Street saw significant activity after midnight, including four other assaults in the two hours before 2am, suggesting crowds on the street that could have targeted Ken in that period. However, the story implies he was going to work; even at a bar and grill (which is how the business survey described this location) that seems an unlikely time to start work, suggesting the event occurred earlier in the evening. Ken lived in East Harlem, at 2085 Lexington Avenue, so would likely not have encountered signs of the disorder until he reached the vicinity of Lenox Avenue.
The only evidence of this attack is a brief account in the New York Journal, a publication that focused more of its reporting on violence against whites than any other NYC newspaper. In all the New York Journal and New York Post reported six assaults on whites that appear in no other sources. The story presented Ken as an example of a particular group of white victims of violence, “those regularly employed in Harlem establishments.” The label implies indiscriminate racial violence, the targeting even of whites known to residents of Harlem. To the contrary, given the grievances of residents regarding the failure of white businesses to hire black staff, whites who worked in Harlem like Ken seem to be the very likely targets of violence.