Revisit: EAST ST. LOUIS RACE RIOT, 1917

The city of East St. Louis, Illinois was the scene of one of the bloodiest race riots in the 20th century.  Racial tensions began to increase in February, 1917 when 470 African American workers were hired to replace white workers who had gone on strike against the Aluminum Ore Company. The violence started on May 28th, 1917, shortly after a city council meeting was called.  Angry white workers lodged … Continue reading Revisit: EAST ST. LOUIS RACE RIOT, 1917

BATTLE OF TULAROSA (MAY 14, 1880)

May 1880 found Colonel Edward Hatch’s 9th Cavalry buffalo soldiers campaigning in the Southwest against the wily Apache leader Victorio.  A skilled practitioner of guerrilla warfare, Victorio – “The Triumphant One” – was proving difficult to catch, avoiding pursuit in Arizona and slipping into New Mexico.  Against this backdrop, a detachment of twenty-five dismounted cavalrymen from K Troop were dispatched to an abandoned post at … Continue reading BATTLE OF TULAROSA (MAY 14, 1880)

BOOKER WASHINGTON IN SEATTLE, 1913

An unusual incidence of interracial solidarity between blacks and Asian Americans occurred during Booker T. Washington’s visit to Seattle. In March 1913, Washington embarked on a national speaking tour in order to raise money for Tuskegee Institute, the chronically underfunded “Normal and Industrial School” in Alabama over whose fortunes he had presided since its founding in 1881. Washington’s barnstorming tours combined the racial uplift theme … Continue reading BOOKER WASHINGTON IN SEATTLE, 1913