Red Summer Washington DC: White Mobs Attack Black Neighborhoods for Four Days

Over four days in July 1919, white mobs — largely composed of white servicemen and sailors — rampaged through Washington DC attacking Black residents. The riots were inflamed by inflammatory headlines in Washington newspapers about alleged Black attacks on white women. At least 15 people were killed. Black veterans from WWI fought back, and Black residents in the Shaw neighborhood mounted organized armed defense. President Wilson refused to intervene for days. The violence shocked the country given its location in the capital.