Radio Rootz' This Day in History
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Key 1
The “Bloody Thursday” riots occurred in San Francisco when police clashed with a group of striking longshore workers. The strikers were a part of the larger West Coast Waterfront Strike, which had been steadily growing and gathering support for two months in protest of worker exploitation at the hands of the wealthy ship-owners. On this day, the striking workers encountered a large police force armed with tear gas and clubs. When the crowd fought back, police began firing their guns, killing two strikers and injuring over 60. Outraged by this event, labor leaders organized workers and community members into the San Francisco General Strike, which lasted four days and shut down much of the city.
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