Morgan County, West Virginia riot of 1919
| Part of Red Summer | |
 Sheriff Hovermale fled with Ferguson from Hancock to Berkeley Springs then to Martinsburg, West Virginia | |
| Date | April 10, 1919 |
|---|---|
| Location | Morgan County, West Virginia |
| Non-fatal injuries | Dozens wounded |
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Red Summer
- April – June
- Morgan County, WV (April 10)
- Jenkins, GA (April 13)
- Sylvester, Georgia (April 14)
- Pickens, Mississippi (May 5)
- Philadelphia (May 9)
- Charleston, SC (May 10)
- Sylvester, Georgia (May 10)
- El Dorado, Arkansas (May 21)
- Milan, Georgia (May 26)
- Putnam County, GA (May 27–28)
- New London, CT (May 30)
- Monticello, Mississippi (May 31)
- Macon, MS (June 7)
- Memphis, Tennessee (June 13)
- Bibb County, Alabama (June 18)
- Annapolis (June 27)
- Macon, Mississippi (June 27)
- New London, CT (June 29)
- July
- Bisbee, AZ (July 3)
- Dublin, Georgia riot (July 6)
- Philadelphia (July 7)
- Coatesville, PA (July 8)
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama (July 9)
- Longview, TX (July 10–12)
- Baltimore (July 11)
- Garfield Park, IN (July 14)
- Port Arthur, TX (July 15)
- Louise, Mississippi (July 15)
- Washington D.C. (July 19–24)
- New York City (July 20)
- Norfolk, VA (July 21)
- New Orleans, Louisiana (July 23)
- Darby, PA (July 23)
- Newberry, SC (July 24)
- Hobson City, Alabama (July 26)
- Chicago (July 27–August 3)
- Newberry, South Carolina (July 28)
- Bloomington, Illinois (July 31)
- Philadelphia (July 31)
- Syracuse, NY (July 31)
- August – November
- Whatley, AL (August 1)
- Lincoln, Arkansas (August 3)
- Hattiesburg, Mississippi (August 4)
- Texarkana, Texas riot of 1919 (August 6)
- New York City (August 21)
- Austin, TX (August 22)
- Laurens County, GA (August 27–29)
- Knoxville (August 30–31)
- Bogalusa, Louisiana (August 31)
- Clarksdale, Mississippi (September 10)
- Omaha (September 28–29)
- Montgomery, Alabama (September 29)
- Elaine, AR (September 30–October 1)
- Baltimore (October 1–2)
- Corbin, KY (October 31)
- Macon, Georgia (November 2)
- Ocoee, FL (November 2–3)
- Magnolia, Arkansas (November 11)
- Wilmington, DE (November 13)
- Bogalusa, LA (November 22)
The Morgan County, West Virginia race riot of 1919 was caused by big business using African-American strikebreakers against striking white workers in Morgan County, West Virginia.[1]
Racial incident
On the same day of the riots one Hugh Ferguson, a Martinsburg African-American, was accused of criminally assaulting Mrs. Ernest Zimmerman at her home near Brosius, Morgan County (now known as Hancock, West Virginia).[2] An angry mob of several hundred men formed around the jail hoping to lynch Ferguson. Sheriff C. R. Hovermale was forced to flee with Ferguson to Berkeley Springs.[2] When the lynching mob followed them they were again forced to flee to the county seat of Berkeley County, West Virginia, Martinsburg.[2]
Aftermath
This uprising was one of several incidents of civil unrest that began in the so-called American Red Summer, of 1919. Terrorist attacks on black communities and white oppression in over three dozen cities and counties. In most cases, white mobs attacked African American neighborhoods. In some cases, black community groups resisted the attacks, especially in Chicago and Washington DC. Most deaths occurred in rural areas during events like the Elaine Race Riot in Arkansas, where an estimated 100 to 240 black people and 5 white people were killed. Also in 1919 were the Chicago Race Riot and Washington D.C. race riot which killed 38 and 39 people respectively, and with both having many more non-fatal injuries and extensive property damage reaching up into the millions of dollars.[3]
See also
- Washington race riot of 1919
- Mass racial violence in the United States
- List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States
Bibliography
Notes
- ^ Marcelle 2016.
- ^ a b c The Wheeling Intelligencer 1919, p. 1.
- ^ The New York Times 1919.
References
- Marcelle, Dale (2016). Pitchforks and Negro Babies: America's Shocking History of Hate. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781524625764. - Total pages: 328
- The New York Times (October 5, 1919). "For Action on Race Riot Peril". The New York Times. New York, NY. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
- The Wheeling Intelligencer (April 10, 1919). "Negro Nearly Lynched After Brutal Attack". The Intelligencer and Wheeling News Register. Wheeling, West Virginia. OCLC 13502337. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
