exam HIST 318
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UNIT4-TheBlackMigrationandRaceRiots1910-1945.pptxTHE BLACK MIGRATION AND RACE RIOTS (1910-1945)
HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN AMERICAN CITIES
HIST 318
RACIAL TENSION IN NORTHERN CITIES
RACE RIOTS
During the Great Migration, cities across the North were reshaped by the presence of African Americans
By 1919, about 1 million African Americans had fled segregation and a lack of economic opportunities in the South for northern cities
During the first wave of the migration, the black population in Chicago grew by 148% and in Philadelphia by 500%, creating massive anxiety among white people in northern cities that black people were taking jobs, housing, and security from them
White fear of black migration led to race riots and violent attacks against blacks in northern cities
RACIAL TENSION IN NORTHERN CITIES
EAST ST. LOUIS, IL RIOTS (1917)
Black workers were hired to replace white workers who had gone on strike
Angry white mobs drove through black neighborhoods firing guns at random black citizens and burning black homes
Lynched random black people (men, women and children)
RACIAL TENSION IN NORTHERN CITIES
PHILADELPHIA RIOTS (1918)
Began on July 26, 1918, two days after an African American woman, Adella Bond, moved into her new home in a primarily white area of South Philadelphia
On the evening of the July 26, a large crowd of white people gathered outside Bond’s home to force her out
As tensions rose within the crowd, someone threw a rock through Bond’s window
Bond responded by firing a pistol into the air to call for help from the police but she unintentionally hit and injured a member of the Irish white mob outside her home
Led to four days of rioting and white violence against blacks
Adella Bond
RED SUMMER (1919)
RED SUMMER (1919)
Deadliest summer in American history
26 urban race riots in various American cities
Race relations tense due to continued black migration
African American migration from the South also resulted in competition with whites for jobs
RED SUMMER (1919)
ATTACKS ON BLACK SOLDIERS
The racist attacks in 1919 were widespread, and often indiscriminate
In many places, they were initiated by white servicemen and centered upon the 380,000 black veterans who had just returned from World War I
Because of their military service, black veterans were seen as a particular threat to Jim Crow and racial subordination
RED SUMMER (1919)
WASHINGTON, D.C. RIOTS
Mob violence against black individuals and businesses perpetrated by white men, in response to the rumored arrest of a black man for rape of a white woman
Led to 4 days of rioting; flames fueled by main stream press
White men rioted, randomly beat black people on the street, and pulled others off streetcars for attacks
When police refused to intervene, the black population fought back
The city closed saloons and theaters to discourage assemblies
After four days of police inaction, President Woodrow Wilson mobilized the National Guard to restore order
RED SUMMER (1919)
CHICAGO RIOTS
Most serious racial riot of Red Summer
Chicago's beaches along Lake Michigan were segregated by custom; When Eugene Williams, a black youth, floated into an area on the South Side customarily used by whites, he was stoned and drowned
Chicago police refused to take action against the attackers, which angered black citizens
Violence lasted for 13 days with ongoing conflict between black youths and white mobs led by the ethnic Irish
White mobs destroyed hundreds of mostly black homes and businesses on the South Side of Chicago
Casualties of the riots include: 38 fatalities (23 blacks and 15 whites); 527 injured; and 1,000 black families left homeless
RED SUMMER (1919)
NEW YORK CITY RIOTS
Riots were caused by social tensions such as competition for jobs, politics, and racial tension stemming from the great migration
Tension grew as African Americans workers replaced striking white workers in various industries
Riots also grew after an argument between a black man and a white man regarding World War I led to shots fired
Racial tension led to days of civil unrest
RED SUMMER (1919)
SYRACUSE, NY RIOTS
Violent racial attack that occurred when the management of the Globe Malleable Iron Works pitted striking white unionized workers against black strikebreakers on July 31, 1919
During strikes, large companies often turned to black laborers as a source of cheaper labor, to avoid giving their white workers more money
Companies also hoped to weaken the labor movement by pitting black and white laborers against each other
Industry brought in as many black workers as strikebreakers to keep the factories running
The result was a series of violent attacks by white workers on black strikebreakers in the ironworks at Syracuse
RED SUMMER (1919)
OMAHA, NE RIOTS
Two days of non-stop violence
Erupted after a mob of over 10,000 ethnic whites attacked and burned the county courthouse to force the release of a black prisoner accused of raping a white woman
The mob lynched the suspect, Will Brown, hanging him and burning his body
The group then spread out, attacking black neighborhoods and stores on the north side, destroying property valued at more than a million dollars
RED SUMMER (1919)
PHILADELPHIA RIOTS
Black migration created very high tensions in South Philadelphia
A local Irish gang had been terrorizing the neighborhood’s new black tenants
A large mob of white people clashed with a large black group
The mob then broke open the doors of black-owned homes, including that of George Graham
White mob tried to eject Graham and his family who had moved there a week earlier
Led to days of civil unrest and a number of people were later arrested
TULSA, BLACK WALL STREET (1921)
Began on May 31, 1921 in the Greenwood section of Tulsa, OK, which was a thriving black community
White woman lies about being sexually assaulted by a black man (Dick Rowland) on an elevator
The black man was arrested and black men went to the jail to protect him from being kidnapped and lynched
White citizens burned and destroyed the most prosperous black neighborhood in Tulsa
As blacks fled burning buildings, they were shot
Over 300 black people lost their lives
MIDWEST VIOLENCE
VIOLENCE IN DETROIT
DETROIT RIOTS (1925)
Riots began after an African American doctor, Dr. Ossain Sweet, and his wife Gladys moved into an all white neighborhood in Detroit
A white mob surrounds his home and demands that he move out on consecutive nights
The mob repeatedly threw stones at his home
One of Dr. Sweet’s friends who was visiting fired a shot from the home and a white man was killed
Dr. Sweet, his wife and his friends were arrested, but were later acquitted after being represented by lawyers from the NAACP
GREAT DEPRESSION ERA RACE RIOTS
HARLEM RACE RIOTS (1935)
Tension between the black community in Harlem and the New York City police remained high throughout the migration period
On March 19th, a white store owner in Harlem accused a black Puerto Rican boy, Lino Rivera, of shoplifting a knife and he was arrested
Rumors about the arrest and the police's treatment of the boy spread throughout Harlem and some believed the police had beaten and killed Rivera
People began to riot, initially attacking the store where Rivera had been arrested; they caused an estimated $2 million worth of damage, mostly to white-owned property
By the end of the rioting, 3 black people were dead and over 200 wounded
WORLD WAR II ERA RACE RIOTS
DETROIT RIOTS (1943)
On June 20, a fist fight broke out between a black man and a white man at the Belle Isle Amusement Park
The brawl eventually grew into a confrontation between 100s of blacks and whites, and then spilled into the city
Stores were looted, and buildings were burned in the riot, most of which were located in a black neighborhood
During the riots, rumors spread that a black woman and her baby had been killed by whites and that a black man had raped a white woman
The riot was also fueled by the racial tension resulting from mass black migration from the South and the increased presence of black workers in the auto industry
