Red Summer of 1919: The Summer of Terror

Red Summer of 1919: The Summer Of Terror

By Maurice Woodson

After World War I, Black Americans returned home with a renewed sense of pride and anticipation. Many had fought bravely overseas, risking their lives in the name of democracy. They believed that their sacrifice would finally usher in a new chapter—one of equality, dignity, and opportunity.

But instead of progress, they were met with violence.

In 1919, a tidal wave of racial terror swept across the United States in what would come to be known as the “Red Summer.” For eight relentless months, anti-Black mob attacks, lynchings, and massacres erupted in cities and towns across the country.

In July alone, eighteen major mob massacres gripped the nation including in Washington, D.C., where a white mob—including servicemen and civilians—launched a four-day assault on Black neighborhoods from July 19–23 and just days later, on July 27, Chicago exploded in violence after a Black teenager was killed for swimming too close to a “whites only” beach. The city burned for nearly a week. Again that was just two of eighteen that occurred in July 1919 alone. That summer in 1919 between May and August, there were forty-three white mob hate driven massacres. (Massacres: a deliberate and violent kill of a large number of people - Not to be mistaken with a lynching).

For many Black Americans, the postwar promise of democracy turned into a painful reckoning. Instead of peace, they were forced to fight another battle—this time, for their very survival on American soil. But this was nothing new.

White mobs have stormed Black towns and communities throughout American History. They massacred, raped and terrorized Black Americans for simply existing. This is the American history they want to hide.

To learn more about Red Summer and the more than 200 untold, hidden and omitted Massacres, read about it in:

"White Mobs. 200+ Massacres"

https://a.co/d/5LFuevX