In the given scenario about the anti-black race riot, I selected the role of a member of the NAACP. My further discussion will be from that person’s point of view.
I am a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). I attended a local meeting on May 10, 1919, when an anti-black race riot occurred on Pine Street. That year’s summer was known as the “Red Summer,” when massive bloodshed and violent outbreaks occurred, and people got injured and killed in protests. [1] There are several factors that can explain why the riot happened on May 10, 1919. As black communities began to actively fight for equal rights in social, economic, and political fields, white people expressed their outrage at the change in the status quo. As a result, racial violence increased toward the black population in the United States. White Americans were unwilling to accept the idea of equal civil rights with black Americans. Therefore, they started riots when members of black communities had to defend themselves and their families from assaults and racial hatred. Furthermore, the anti-black followers accused people of color of supporting the Bolsheviks.
Another NAACP meeting’s attendee, an African American veteran of World War I, faced violent treatment and threats from the whites. He was told to leave the city immediately, along with other people of color. In my view, the back person being attacked should respond with caution since they are at a high risk of getting injured or killed in the crowd. In this scenario, the veteran should try to leave the unsafe area safely and not engage in verbal contact with rioters. Overall, despite one’s ideological values and support for equal rights, it is dangerous to confront a violent crown on one’s own.
Bibliography
Locke, Joseph L., and Ben Wright, eds., The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open US History Textbook, Vol. 1: To 1877. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2019.