1923

In January 1923, white mobs from surrounding Levy County, Florida attacked Rosewood, an all-Black community, after white woman Fannie Taylor falsely claimed a Black man had assaulted her. At least six Black residents and two white men were killed; the actual death toll is believed higher. Every Black-owned structure in Rosewood was burned. Survivors fled into surrounding swamps and were rescued by sympathetic white neighbors. The community never returned. Florida paid $2.1 million in reparations to survivors and descendants in 1994.

The St. Louis Real Estate Exchange adopted formal policies in the early 1920s declaring it unethical for member agents to sell homes in white neighborhoods to Black buyers. This policy was formalized in the National Association of Real Estate Boards' Code of Ethics, which until 1950 listed selling to 'undesirable' (meaning Black) buyers as a violation of professional ethics. This private industry self-regulation enforced segregation independent of law, creating professional consequences for any agent who served Black buyers. The combination of private covenant enforcement and professional ethics codes made residential segregation a total system with multiple redundant mechanisms.

The St. Louis Real Estate Exchange, followed by the National Association of Real Estate Boards, adopted formal policies in the early 1920s declaring it unethical for member agents to sell homes in white neighborhoods to Black buyers. This was codified in the NAREB Code of Ethics, which until 1950 listed selling to 'undesirable' (meaning Black) buyers as a violation of professional ethics creating professional consequences for any agent who served Black buyers. The combination of private covenant enforcement and professional ethics codes made residential segregation a total system with multiple redundant mechanisms.

In Moore v. Dempsey, the Supreme Court ruled 6-2 that the convictions of twelve Black men sentenced to death after the Elaine Arkansas Massacre violated due process because their trials were dominated by mob intimidation. The NAACP had argued that the trials lasted minutes, no Black jurors were seated, defense counsel called no witnesses, and an armed mob surrounded the courthouse. The ruling was the first time the Supreme Court held that a state criminal proceeding violated federal due process guarantees — a foundational precedent for federal court review of state criminal trials.

Throughout the 1920s, well-funded eugenics research institutions including the Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, the American Eugenics Society, and university psychology and anthropology departments produced studies purporting to demonstrate the intellectual inferiority of Black Americans based on IQ test data. The Army Alpha and Beta tests from WWI were widely cited to justify racial hierarchy. Carl Brigham's 1923 'A Study of American Intelligence' claimed scientific proof of racial intelligence rankings. These studies were published in mainstream academic journals, cited in congressional testimony supporting immigration restriction, and used to justify everything from school segregation to sterilization programs.

Fannie Taylor's accusation that a Black man attacked her was the trigger for the Rosewood massacre. Later investigations and testimony from her neighbor, Lexie Gordon, indicated Taylor's injuries were likely from her white lover. Jesse Hunter, a fugitive convict, was alleged as the attacker. Despite no evidence connecting Rosewood resident Sylvester Carrier or any other specific man, the entire community was targeted. The pattern of false rape accusations by white women triggering anti-Black mob violence was recurrent across this era.

Throughout the 1920s, well-funded eugenics research institutions including the Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor and the American Eugenics Society produced studies purporting to demonstrate the intellectual inferiority of Black Americans. Carl Brigham's 1923 'A Study of American Intelligence' claimed scientific proof of racial intelligence rankings based on WWI Army IQ tests. These studies were published in mainstream academic journals, cited in congressional testimony supporting immigration restriction, and used to justify school segregation, sterilization programs, and housing exclusion.

James T. Scott, a Black janitor at the University of Missouri, was accused of assaulting the 14-year-old daughter of a professor. Before trial, a mob of University of Missouri students abducted Scott from jail on April 29, 1923, and hanged him from a bridge in front of a large crowd. A NAACP investigation found the evidence against Scott flimsy and the 'confession' coerced. No members of the mob were prosecuted. The lynching illustrated that mob violence operated within university communities and with impunity even in border states with some anti-lynching sentiment.

James T. Scott, a Black janitor at the University of Missouri, was accused of assaulting the 14-year-old daughter of a professor. Before trial, a mob of University of Missouri students abducted Scott from jail on April 29, 1923, and hanged him from a bridge in front of a large crowd. A NAACP investigation found the evidence against Scott flimsy and the 'confession' coerced. No members of the mob were prosecuted. The lynching illustrated that mob violence operated within university communities and in border states with near-universal impunity.

A white mob destroys the Black town of Rosewood, Florida.