Journal-2

Red Summer Riots

Red Summer riots refer to the racial riots that happened in the history of America in 1919.

These riots were between White Americans and Black Americans that occurred in more than

three dozen States in America. It all happened when American soldiers returned from the first

World War and found their own homes caught in another kind of violence. The role of the

end of the first World War is also crucial to discuss as it is also significant to increase the

violence and problems in the Red summer riots. The post-war era discharged millions of

servicemen and they got back to domestic life. The competition over life and economic

opportunities put the two races on two extremes and developed conflicts among them

(Waxman). This conflict resulted in a tragic form that can be remembered as a violent and

deadly incident known as the Red Summer riots of 1919. Moreover, the great migration also

occurred after the first World war when thousands of African Americans migrated to the

industrial south from the Rural North (Johnson, 71). Many White settlers did not accept the

black arrivals and that turned into violent riots between them. Further, the vacated positions

of the white American soldiers after the first world war were taken by Black Americans. It

offers another cause of the tension between white and Black Americans.

The hot summer of 1919 turned into a bloody and violent part of history where multiple

factors and groups paved the way to increase the racial tension in the country. According to

Johnson, " four types of the major cause that served to riots were those emerging from a

racial group, those who belong to a labor community, those stemming out from the military

involvement and those that come from political conflicts"(Johnson, 72). These four are

considered the root causes of the Red summer riots of 1919. Voogd HS analyzed the details

of those riots including the incidents from each factor serving as a major cause of conflict.
From large-scale riots including political involvement in Washington and Chicago to the

labor uprising in Louisiana, all the dimensions are analyzed to measure which factor has

affected the riots to which extent. According to Broussard, " minor tensions between White

Americans and Black Americans in the industrial south exploded into violent and bloody

riots" (Broussard, 257). The trivial incidents are considered the leading factors of the Red

summer riots of 1919 where the racial tension turned into terrorist activities.