The East St. Louis Race Riot of 1917 stemmed from racial tensions over jobs, housing, and segregation. It escalated into violent attacks, arson, and lynchings, leaving at least 48 dead and displacing thousands. The riot was symbolic of racial tensions between northern whites and blacks that developed due to the Great Migration.
Essential Facts
- The riot occurred in East St. Louis, Illinois, on July 2, 1917.
- Tensions arose from white resentment of black workers and housing shortages.
- At least 39 African Americans and nine whites officially died, although unofficial estimates were higher.
- Over 200 homes were destroyed by fire.
- Around 7,000 African Americans fled the city.
- Few rioters faced significant legal consequences.
- The riot hindered the growth and development of East St. Louis for years.
Remembering the East St. Louis Riot and Massacre
African Americans and the Great Migration
The Great Migration (c. 1910–1970) was the large-scale movement of African Americans from the rural South to urban areas in the North and West between roughly 1910 and 1970. Seeking refuge from Jim Crow Laws, racial violence, and economic hardship, millions relocated to cities like Chicago, Detroit, and New York. They sought better job opportunities in industries and improved social conditions. The migration transformed American demographics, culture, and politics but also intensified racial tensions in the North.
- Northern cities offered many job opportunities for African Americans, especially in manufacturing and similar industries, due to U.S. involvement in World War I and men leaving for military service.
- African Americans sought to escape Southern segregation and exploitative sharecropping systems.
Sharecroppers — Farmers who work land owned by someone else in exchange for a share of the crops produced. Predominantly in the South, sharecroppers, often poor and African Americans struggled with poverty and exploitation. New Deal programs sometimes displaced them as subsidies favored landowners who reduced the acreage and the number of fields they planted.
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