East St. Louis Riot

The East St. Louis Riot (May-June 1917) was an outbreak of labor and racially motivated violence that occurred in the United States city of East St. Louis, Illinois. As of 2007, it is the worst incidence of labor-related violence in 20th century American history, [Fitch, "Solidarity for Sale," 2006, p. 120.] and one of the worst race riots ever in U.S. history. [McLaughlin, "Reconsidering the East St Louis Race Riot of 1917," "International Review of Social History," August 2002.]

Background

In 1917, the United States had a strong economy boosted by World War I. Because many workers were being recruited for the war, firms also had jobs for African Americans, who began to migrate in great number from the South to St. Louis, among other northern and midwestern cities. Many African Americans went to work at the Aluminum Ore Company and the American Steel Company. Some whites feared job security and maintaining wages in relation to this new competition. They resented the newcomers from a different, rural culture. Tensions between the groups spun around rumors of black men and white women fraternizing at a labor meeting on May 28.Rudwick, "Race Riot at East St. Louis," 1964.] [Leonard, "E. St. Louis Riot," "St. Louis Post-Dispatch," January 13, 2004.]

Riot and aftermath

Three thousand white men gathered downtown, and started to attack African Americans. They destroyed buildings and beat people. The governor of the state called in National Guard, who prevented further rioting that day. Rumors circulated about fears of an organized attack from African Americans.

On July 1, an 18-year-old black man shot his white attacker. Whites came by to shoot back. When police came to investigate, the black man who had been attacked returned fire, thinking the police were the earlier attackers. He killed two police officers. [ [http://www.odmp.org/officer.php?oid=3416 The Officer Down Memorial Page] ]

The next morning, thousands of white spectators who saw the bloodstained automobile marched to the black section of town and started rioting. After cutting the hoses of the fire department, the rioters burned entire sections of the city and shot inhabitants as they escaped the flames. Claiming that "Southern niggers deserve [d] a genuine lynching," [Heaps, "Target of Prejudice: The Negro," in "Riots, USA 1765-1970," p. 114.] they lynched several blacks. Guardsmen were called in, but several accounts reported that they joined in the rioting rather than stopping it. [Gibson, "The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States, 1880-1950," 1979.] Patrick, "The Horror of the East St. Louis Massacre," "Exodus," February 22, 2000.] Others joined in, including allegedly "ten or fifteen young girls about 18 years old, [who] chased a negro woman at the Relay Depot at about 5 o'clock. The girls were brandishing clubs and calling upon the men to kill the woman." ["Race Rioters Fire East St. Louis and Shoot or Hang Many Negroes," "New York Times," July 3, 1917.] The renowned journalist Ida B. Wells reported in "The Chicago Defender" that 150 black people were killed during July in the rioting in East St. Louis. [Wells, "Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells," rev. ed., 1991.]

Notes

References

*Barnes, Harper. "Never Been a Time: The 1917 Race Riot That Sparked the Civil Rights Movement." New York: Walker & Company, June 24, 2008. ISBN 0802715753.
*Fitch, Robert. "Solidarity for Sale." Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Books Group, 2006. ISBN 189162072X
*Gibson, Robert A. "The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States, 1880-1950." New Haven: Yale University, 1979.
*Heaps, Willard A. "Target of Prejudice: The Negro." In "Riots, USA 1765-1970." New York: The Seabury Press, 1970.
*Leonard, Mary Delach. "E. St. Louis Riot." "St. Louis Post-Dispatch." January 13, 2004.
*McLaughlin, Malcolm. "Reconsidering the East St Louis Race Riot of 1917." "International Review of Social History." 47:2 (August 2002).
*"Race Rioters Fire East St. Louis and Shoot or Hang Many Negroes." "New York Times." July 3, 1917.
*Patrick, James. "The Horror of the East St. Louis Massacre." "Exodus." February 22, 2000.
*Rudwick, Elliott M. "Race Riot at East St. Louis." Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1964.
*Wells, Ida B. "Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells." Rev. ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. ISBN 0226893448

External links

* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/garvey/filmmore/ps_riots.html "Primary Sources: The Conspiracy Of The East St. Louis Riots." "The American Experience." PBS.com.]