The riot began where the marker is placed on Archdale Street between Market and Beaufain…added this summer. I have written about this riot in the last post in my series on my block in this blog. So, I was surprised and happy to see that the city and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church were already ahead of me…

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CHARLESTON RIOT

OF 1919

The “Red Summer” of 1919 was a wave of racist attacks on African American communities across the U.S. One of the first outbreaks of violence began the night of May 10 near the intersection of Archdale and Beaufain Sts.

The event likely started when a sidewalk altercation between Black residents and white sailors on leave from the U.S. Naval Training Center became physical and spilled into neighboring streets and buildings.

For hours, hundreds of white sailors and others moved along King St. and harassed, beat, stabbed, and shot African Americans. One local newspaper described it as a “hunt and chase of negroes.”

Many defended themselves, including some who took up weapons. The mob overwhelmed City Police, and order was restored early May 11 only after Marines and military police intervened. Three black residents were killed, and dozens injured.

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