Troops outside of York, PA
*On this date in 1969 in York, Pennsylvania, the National Guard was called to suppress a race riot.
A white man shot Lillie Belle Allen (a young Black woman) the previous night. Earlier that day, Robert and Arthur Messersmith were charged with criminal homicide in the shooting; nine other people were recommended for indictment in the case.
Allen was shot as she tried to drive past a group of white men. Witnesses said Messersmith ran into York’s Newberry Street with armed white men the night of July 21, 1969, as a car carrying Allen approached.
At the time, Charlie Robertson, the two-term mayor of York, Pennsylvania, was being charged with murder in the killing of Allen. A police officer at the time, Robertson is accused of inciting and providing ammunition to a white gang, which included Messersmith.
