Racism and Violence in the North

The Great Migration 1.5 million Southern blacks moved North During the 1910s and 1920s . . . Chicago's black population grew by 148% Cleveland's by 307% Detroit's by 611% Finding places to live became as source of friction

Housing – A source of friction between Blacks and Whites Access to housing became a source of friction Blacks needed places to live Whites did not want Blacks in their neighborhoods Some cities adopt residential segregation ordinances In 1917, Supreme Court rules it unconstitutional Government could not impose segregation Buchanan v. Warley

Deed restrictions The restrictive covenant A formal deed restriction Prohibited whites from selling to Blacks Whites could be sued for selling to Blacks Sued by "damaged" neighbors.

Individuals impose residential segregation Neighborhood improvement associations Keep Black families out of white neighborhoods White Realtors kept neighborhoods segregated Realtors in St. Louis established “Negro zones” Whites sold homes when Blacks moved nearby Some real estate agents fed this panic “Blockbusting” Some Blacks moved out when poor Blacks moved in! Established Blacks vs. Southern migrants

Black homes attacked Blacks who bought homes in White neighborhoods Sometimes beaten Sometimes their houses bombed or torched Many bombings were the work of the Ku Klux Klan I’ll talk about them later Chicago: One bombing every 20 days in Chicago between 1917 and 1921 Bombings kept Blacks out of white neighborhoods

Confined to all Black neighborhoods African Americans created cities-within-cities During the 1920s. The largest was Harlem, in upper Manhattan 200,000 African Americans lived in Harlem

Blacks fight “de facto” segregation in the North The National Urban League helped Blacks find jobs The NAACP mounted successful challenges against the grandfather clause (1915) restrictive covenants (1917) The NAACP fought school segregation The NAACP lobbied a federal anti-lynching bill

Marcus Garvey Spoke of racial pride and self-help Told Black followers to love their beautiful black skin Universal Negro Improvement Association (1917) The first mass movement in African American history Negro World had 200,000 subscribers Related businesses employed 1,000 black people

The rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan The original Klan of Reconstruction died in he 1870s Federal government went after lawbreakers Their mission done – Reconstruction defeated Southerners later romanticized the KKK A noble organization Saved the South from Negro rule The novels of Thomas Dixon perpetuated these myths The Leopard's Spots (1902) The Clansman (1905)

The Birth of a Nation, 1915 A film by D. W. Griffith Adapted from Dixon's novels A commercial success Outraged the Black community Portrayed Blacks as dumb & sexually aggressive Black characters played by whites in black face Popularity of movie explains rebirth of the KKK Leo Frank murder case also explain new KKK Jewish man accused of killing young girl

The New Ku Klux Klan By the mid-1920s 5 million members nationwide Followed Blacks North in their great migration Attracted both Democrats and Republicans Very influential in state governments Oklahoma, Indiana, Oregon, Ohio, and California Hated anyone that was less than “100% American” Immigrants, radicals, intellectuals, Catholics, & Jews. African Americans

The Ku Klux Klan was a terrorist organization Committed horrible crimes Mobs hanged 78 Black Burned eleven men at the stake. Summer 1919 -- 83 Blacks were lynched

Race Riots April & early October 1919 Race riots in 25 cities around the USA Some involved the Ku Klux Klan Elaine, Arkansas Charleston, South Carolina Knoxville, Tennessee Longview, Texas Omaha, Nebraska Washington, D.C.

Chicago: Site of the largest race riot of 1919 1915-1919 -- southern migrants came to Chicago Blacks AND whites between 1915 and 1919 Black population in Chicago tripled Southern whites brought their racism Race war in Chicago -- July 27-30, 1919 38 persons of both races died 500 were injured

Tulsa Oklahoma, May 1921 Another “race war” 85 people killed – both Black and White Several hundred people were wounded. Large parts of Black community destroyed Thousands were left homeless Black business district was destroyed by fire. 6,000 blacks were placed in detention camps

Lynching continued 1922 -- 51 Blacks lynched in the US 30 victims were taken from jail cells by white mobs 1919 – begins campaign to make lynching a federal crime Their efforts were blocked by conservative southerners

Why the outbreak of violence? ❶ The Great Migration whites and blacks living in close proximity ❷ A post-war recession Blacks and whites competing for fewer jobs Greater tensions ❸ An anti-communist “Red Scare” Whites mistrusted all things “alien”

Why were Blacks more likely to fight back? Fighting back in the courts AND on the streets ❶ Rising expectations Blacks were coming to expect more ❷ Blacks now in cities They can join together and defend themselves ❸ Black World War I veterans Tired of being mistreated