Meridian, Mississippi (1871)

Duration, in days, of the Meridian riot. Distance between Meridian, Mississippi and Sumter County, Alabama. In Alabama, Ku Klux Klan raids drove freedmen to desert Sumter County and to seek refuge in Meridian. This led to a labor shortage in Sumter County. As a result, a group had made several trips in January of 1871 […]

Knoxville, Tennessee (1919)

Years following the Civil War that Knoxville, Tennessee had been able to boast about harmonious racial relations before the riot of 1919. People to know. Bertie Lindsey- A white woman, 27 years old, who was murdered around 2:30 AM the morning of August 30, 1919. Maurice Mays – Proprietor of Stroller’s Cafe, well-known black community […]

Birmingham, Alabama (1963)

Bombs that provoked rioting in Birmingham Alabama on May 11, 1963. At 10:45 PM, a uniformed police officer exited a Birmingham police vehicle, squad car 22, and left a package near the front steps of Pastor A.D. King’s home. A witness, Roosevelt Tatum, stated that the officer returned to his car and then threw something […]

Longview, Texas (1919)

One man was killed during the riot activities in Longview, Texas.   Significantly different stories involving the death of Lemuel Walters. This death is one of the chief factors leading up to the riot. One version of the story involves Walter, a black man, being discovered in the bedroom of a white woman in a […]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1834)

On Tuesday, August 12, 1834 a white mob consisting of several hundred people attacked a building in Philadelphia which housed the Flying Horses, a popular carousel that served both blacks and whites in the area. The mob destroyed the building and fought against any black people (and presumably others) who offered resistance in this attack. Estimated […]

The N-word

I am no fool. I knew that I would have to confront the n-word during some point in this project. I just didn’t know that I would have to deal with it so early. There I was researching riot #1 when it first jumped out. Just like that. I thought about putting this topic about […]

Miami, Florida (1980)

On the evening of May 16, 1979 Arthur McDuffie was riding his motorcycle when the police attempted to pull him over. A chase ensued at high speeds through a residential area. Eventually, McDuffie surrendered. Then he was beaten by police officers. He slipped into a coma and died a few days later. Immediately following the […]

Digging In

  One of the major challenges of this project is deciding how far to delve into the facts of each riot. The random number generator did me a favor with the first couple of riots. It’s just a bigger challenge to find information about some of these riots than it is to find information about […]

Harlem, New York (1935)

Age of Lino Rivera, the black Puerto Rican young man at the center of this event. On March 19, 1935, Mr. Rivera shoplifted a pen knife from a five and dime store. He was chased and caught by store employees. Rivera didn’t take being caught calmly. He severely bit the hands of store employees who detained […]

Opelousas, Louisiana (1868)

September 29, 1868. Emerson Bentley was a teacher and newspaper editor. He was the English editor of the St. Landry Progress, a Republican paper. This paper supported universal suffrage and equal rights for the recently freed black population. The white population of St. Landry Parish was overwhelmingly Democratic; as a result Bentley, his writing and even his […]