Red Summer 1919: At Least 25 Race Riots and 97 Lynchings in a Single Year

The summer and fall of 1919 saw anti-Black race riots in at least 25 American cities — Washington DC, Chicago, Elaine Arkansas, Omaha, Knoxville, Longview Texas, Charleston South Carolina, and others — making it the bloodiest period of racial violence in American history outside of the Civil War era. At least 97 Black Americans were lynched that year alone, including 10 veterans still in military uniform. The NAACP's James Weldon Johnson named it the 'Red Summer.' The violence was a direct response to Black military service, Great Migration, and demands for equality.