The race riot of Charleston, South Carolina in 1919 was a part of a series of race riots that year, known as the “Red Summer.” The migration of blacks out of the south, the end of World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the illness and near incapacity of President Woodrow Wilson, and the 1918 influenza epidemic that killed more than 600,000 in the United States led to widespread social instability. These events lead to fears of social and political upheaval which contributed to racial tensions and violence as whites sought scapegoats and blacks, emboldened by their own progress, sought to defend their rights. Continue reading CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA RACE RIOT (1919)