Red Summer

by Valentin Morales

What were the worst riots in U.S. History?

-People assume the worst riots in U.S. history were the riots set off by Martin Luther King’s assassination. However, Cameron McWhirter believes the worst riots were the ones that took place in the Red Summer. He claims that these were the most vicious and grim riots.

What was the Red Summer?

The most grim riots were the ones that took place in the Red Summer. The Red Summer was a bunch of berserk riots where African Americans were the target and white people were the hunters. The Red Summer took place in the summer of 1919 in several cities.

What happened on July 17, 1919?

One riot took place in Washington D.C. On July 17 1919 some white woman said that a black man tried to elbow her and take her purse. Two days later white sailors and workers marched from the Washington Navy Yard into a nearby neighborhood beating any black people they saw. Four blacks and three whites were killed and several hundred people were severely injured.

Where was President Wilson at the time?

Woodrow Wilson was doing nothing while these riots were happening. When things got too far in the Washington riot, president Wilson reluctantly ordered federal troops to be brought in and get things calmed down.

What were some other riots in the Red Summer?

On September 30, 1919, riots were happening in Mississippi. Two white officers arrived to a church where black people were holding a ceremony. The officers claimed they were looking for a bootlegger and then shots were exchanged.The news spread quickly and whites hopped on cars, trucks, and trains, shooting any black people they saw.

Images of the Red Summer

White people setting an African American on fire.

Cameron McWhirter wrote a book based on these vicious riots.

A white mob is looking for African Americans.

How did the Red Summer affect African Americans?

The African Americans were severely affected by the Red Summer. Hundreds of African Americans died by being lynched or through a grim death. African Americans were the target in these riots.

Quotes

“The Red Summer is a story of destruction, but it is also a story of the beginning of a freedom movement.” (11)

This quote is important because it is a horrible ending but it also flourishes a new beginning for the U.S.

Quotes

“The Washington riot gave me a thrill that comes once in a lifetime... at last our men had stood up like men... grief and humiliation of a lifetime --half a century-- was being stripped from me.” This quote is powerful because it shows how an African American woman expressed how she finally felt equal, and proud.

This was the headline of The Gazzete Elaine, Arkansas, October 3, 1919