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Since the 1900s, there have also been a number of protests and riots led by African Americans in response to police brutality and continued inequality and discrimination. The following is a list of some of the major incidents of racially motivated violence in U.S. history, organized chronologically.
- Melissa Petruzzello
Mass racial violence in the United States. In the broader context of racism in the United States, mass racial violence in the United States consists of ethnic conflicts and race riots, along with such events as: Racially based communal conflicts between White Americans and African Americans which took place before the American Civil War, often ...
- 1965: Los Angeles. An identity check by police on two black men in a car sparks the Watts riots, August 11-17, 1965, in Los Angeles, which leave 34 dead and tens of millions of dollars' worth of damage.
- 1967: Newark. Two white police officers arrest and beat up a black taxi driver for a minor traffic violation, setting off rioting July 12-17 in Newark, New Jersey.
- 1967: Detroit. Race riots in Detroit, Michigan, July 23-27, 1967, kill 43 and leave more than 2,000 injured. Trouble spreads to Illinois, North Carolina, Tennessee and Maryland.
- 1968: King assassination. After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, violence erupts in 125 cities April 4-11, 1968, leaving at least 46 dead and 2,600 injured.
May 26, 2020 – present. (3 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 6 days) Location. United States. Caused by. Killings of African-American people by police (including the murder of George Floyd) [1] police brutality [1] lack of police accountability [1] racial inequality and racism [2]
- 17 July 2014: Eric Garner. Getty Images. A protest over the death of Eric Garner at the hands of New York police. Eric Garner died after he was wrestled to the ground by a New York police officer on suspicion of illegally selling cigarettes.
- 9 August 2014: Michael Brown. Getty Images. The killing of Michael Brown led to violent protests in Ferguson, Missouri. Michael Brown, 18, was killed by a police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri, who was responding to reports that Brown had stolen a box of cigars.
- 22 November 2014: Tamir Rice. Getty Images. A solitary toy is left as a memorial near where Tamir Rice died. Tamir Rice, a boy of 12, was shot dead in Cleveland, Ohio by a police officer after reports of a male who was "probably a juvenile" pointing a gun that was "probably fake" at passers by.
- 4 April 2015: Walter Scott. Walter Scott was shot in the back five times by a white police officer, who was later fired and eventually sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Regrettably racial violence has been a distinct part of American history since 1660. While that violence has impacted almost every ethnic and racial group in the United States, it has had a particularly horrific effect on African American life. Listed below are some of the major incidents of racial violence profiled on BlackPast.org.
Historians say that 99 years ago, white mobs targeted an area of Tulsa known as the Greenwood District, killing between 150 and 300 Black residents, while looting and burning businesses, homes...
