YORK, Pa. — Lillie Belle Allen and Officer Henry Schaad, two victims of the 1969 York race riot, will be remembered tonight with a a prayer vigil.
The riot happened 54 years ago today, and members of the community are hoping to keep their stories alive and continue advocating for change.
Bob Mann, a Dover resident, says he witnessed Lillie Belle Allen’s murder 54 years ago. He was 14 years old and near the bottom of the railroad track on Newberry Street. Mann said he remembers clearly what took place on July 21, 1969.
“The door opened, and Ms. Allen got out, and she raised her hands and said ‘don’t shoot,' because there were many, many guns pointed at her… and then there was one shot and then there were 100 shots,” said Mann
Allen and her family were driving their Cadillac north on Newberry Street when they saw a large group of armed white men and young boys pointing rifles and guns at the car as their car stalled over the railroad tracks. When Allen got out of the car, a barrage of gunfire rang out, killing her and hitting the car.
Officer Schaad was a 22-year-old rookie police officer who was shot a week before Allen. A group of Black residents fired at his armored car, and a bullet went into Schaad's shoulder, causing major internal injuries. Schaad died one week after Lillie Belle Allen.
For 1,461 days, Mann has provided flowers on both benches of Allen and Schaad and even pushed for a new interpretive sign/story walk sign that will help keep their stories alive. Mann said that although times have changed since the York race riot, there’s still work to be done.
“The important thing is to tell the story; more people need to tell the story, especially the schools—the schools need to teach the local history,” said Mann. "They’re more worried about the history that happened 150 years ago, but let’s teach some local history."
The vigil will take place at the Farquhar Park Memorial Benches on 420 North Newberry and Park Street. The event starts at 5 p.m., and a number of guests will speak. An interpretive/story walk sign will be dedicated as well.