April 13, 1873 — Colfax, Louisiana
Massacre of freedmen defending local government after Reconstruction election dispute
Armed white militias attacked Black freedmen who were defending the Grant Parish courthouse following a contested election. Around 150 Black men were killed — most after surrendering. The event marked a violent end to Reconstruction-era Black political power in Louisiana.
July 8, 1876 — Hamburg, South Carolina
White militia assault on Black state militia; political coup during Reconstruction rollback
A white militia surrounded a Black militia unit in the town of Hamburg and opened fire, killing several Black militiamen. The incident was part of coordinated violence to restore white political control across South Carolina and suppress Reconstruction governments.
November 23, 1887 — Thibodaux, Louisiana
Labor massacre of striking Black sugar workers
White mobs, backed by planters and local law enforcement, attacked striking Black sugar workers demanding fair pay. Estimates of deaths range from dozens to hundreds. The attack crushed the fledgling Black labor movement in Louisiana’s sugar parishes.
November 10, 1898 — Wilmington, North Carolina
Coup d'état / massacre; elected biracial government overthrown; Black businesses & newspaper destroyed; mass displacement
White supremacist organizers led an armed mob that overthrew Wilmington’s elected biracial government, killed residents, burned the Black-owned newspaper The Daily Record, destroyed Black property, and drove many Black citizens from the city. Historians and state commissions characterize the event as an organized political overthrow and mass terror campaign.
September 22–24, 1906 — Atlanta, Georgia
Urban massacre and destruction of Black business district
False reports of assaults inflamed white mobs that rampaged through Atlanta’s Black neighborhoods, killing dozens, burning businesses, and destroying homes. The violence devastated the city’s Black middle class and business leadership.
August 14–16, 1908 — Springfield, Illinois
Racial massacre in Abraham Lincoln’s hometown; catalyst for NAACP founding
A white mob, reacting to false allegations, lynched two Black men and destroyed Springfield’s Black business district. The violence shocked the nation and directly inspired civil rights leaders to form the NAACP the following year.
July 29, 1910 — Slocum region (near Palestine), Texas
Massacre / arson; rural Black residents killed and driven off their land
In the Slocum area white mobs attacked Black residents, killing multiple men, burning homes, and forcing survivors to flee. The assault dispersed the local Black community and removed families from homesteads and property they had occupied for years.
1912 — Forsyth County, Georgia
Racial expulsion / ethnic cleansing; mass forced departure of Black residents
Following allegations and mob violence in 1912, white residents used terror and intimidation to expel more than a thousand Black residents from Forsyth County. Homes, churches, and Black institutions were abandoned under threat or force; the county remained effectively closed to Black residents for decades thereafter.
Oscarville Massacre — 1912, Forsyth County, Georgia
In 1912, the prosperous Black farming community of Oscarville in Forsyth County, Georgia, was violently destroyed following the alleged assault and murder of a white woman, May Crow. After two Black teenagers were lynched—one publicly hanged and burned before a crowd—white mobs terrorized the county’s entire Black population. Over 1,000 Black residents were driven from their homes through threats, arson, and violence, effectively erasing Oscarville from the map.
This campaign of racial cleansing resulted in the complete confiscation of Black-owned property, which was later resold or absorbed into white ownership. The land that once held Oscarville now lies beneath Lake Lanier, a reservoir completed in the 1950s. The town’s destruction and the forced displacement of its residents remain one of the least discussed acts of domestic racial terror in American history.
Casualties: Several killed, over 1,000 displaced, entire town destroyed.
Type: Ethnic cleansing, arson, forced expulsion.
Sources:
NPR – “What Happened to Oscarville, Georgia?†|
History.com – “The Lost Town Beneath Lake Lanier†|
Atlanta Magazine – “The Lost Town Under Lake Lanierâ€
July 2–3, 1917 — East St. Louis, Illinois
Industrial massacre; Black neighborhoods razed and residents murdered
White workers, resentful of Black labor competition, attacked Black neighborhoods in East St. Louis. Homes and churches were burned, and up to 250 Black residents were killed. Thousands were displaced as the district was left in ruins.
1919 (Red Summer) — Multiple cities & rural areas nationwide
Widespread coordinated racial violence, arson, and attacks on Black neighborhoods
The “Red Summer†of 1919 saw coordinated white mob violence across the U.S., during which Black neighborhoods were attacked, homes and businesses burned, and agricultural Black communities were assaulted. Violence occurred in cities and rural counties, producing mass destruction and displacement in many places.
May 10, 1919 — Charleston, South Carolina
Riot by white sailors; Black civilians killed and injured
White sailors from a nearby naval base attacked Black residents and businesses, killing several and injuring many more. The violence reflected post–World War I racial tensions in port cities.
July 19–23, 1919 — Washington, D.C.
White servicemen-led attacks on Black residents and businesses
Returning white servicemen and civilians attacked Black neighborhoods, businesses, and pedestrians. Four days of riots left multiple deaths, widespread injuries, and heavy property damage before federal troops intervened.
July 27–August 3, 1919 — Chicago, Illinois
Major urban race riot during Red Summer; large-scale destruction of Black housing
After the killing of a Black teenager at a segregated beach, white mobs attacked Chicago’s South Side Black community. Thirty-eight people were killed and over a thousand were left homeless after arson and street fighting.
August 30–31, 1919 — Knoxville, Tennessee
Mob invasion and arson in Black neighborhoods
White mobs stormed the county jail and then looted Black neighborhoods, burning homes and shops. Martial law was briefly declared to restore order.
Late September–October, 1919 — Elaine / Phillips County, Arkansas
Massacre / suppression of Black sharecroppers; communities destroyed or dispersed
White posses and militias attacked Black sharecroppers who were organizing for better conditions. The resulting violence killed scores of Black residents, destroyed property and economic bases, and forced survivors to flee, decimating local Black communities in the process.
November 2, 1920 — Ocoee, Florida
Election-day massacre; homes and Black institutions burned; Black community expelled
On Election Day, white mobs attacked Black voters and residents in Ocoee after efforts by Black citizens to exercise the vote. Dozens were killed (estimates vary), many Black-owned buildings and homes were burned, and the Black population was driven from the town for decades.
May 31–June 1, 1921 — Greenwood (Tulsa), Oklahoma — "Black Wall Street"
Massacre & scorched-earth destruction; >1,000 buildings destroyed; hundreds killed; survivors interned
A white mob, joined or aided by law enforcement and National Guard elements according to recent reviews, attacked Greenwood, Tulsa’s prosperous Black district, burning homes and businesses, killing many residents, and displacing thousands. Modern federal review characterizes the assault as coordinated and military-style; mass graves and long-term economic destruction followed.
January 1923 — Rosewood, Florida
Massacre and arson; entire Black town burned; survivors displaced; town never reestablished
White mobs descended on Rosewood after an accusation against a Black man; residents were shot, homes and buildings were burned to the ground, and the Black town was effectively erased. Rosewood was never rebuilt as it had been.
June 20–22, 1943 — Detroit, Michigan
Industrial city race riot during World War II
Racial tensions over housing and jobs exploded into a three-day riot. White mobs, assisted by police, killed 25 Black residents, injured hundreds, and burned Black property throughout the city.
February 25, 1946 — Columbia, Tennessee
Police and mob assault on Black business district
A violent confrontation in Columbia’s “Mink Slide†district led to white police and mobs looting and shooting their way through Black-owned businesses. State troopers and National Guard intervened, arresting scores of Black residents instead of the attackers.
July 11, 1951 — Cicero, Illinois
Mob attack on Black family’s home; arson and looting
A mob of thousands surrounded an apartment building rented to a Black family, throwing furniture out the windows and setting it ablaze. Police arrested Black residents rather than rioters; no one was convicted for the destruction.
May 13, 1985 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (MOVE Bombing)
Government assault on Black liberation group; aerial bombing of residential block
Philadelphia police dropped explosives on the home of the Black liberation group MOVE during a standoff, igniting a fire that destroyed 61 homes. Eleven residents — including five children — were killed. The bombing remains one of the most extreme instances of state violence against a Black community in U.S. history.
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