The “Red Summer” is a term for the race riots that occurred in more than three dozen cities in the United States during the summer and early autumn of 1919. The Longview Riot is one example of the epidemic racist mob violence of 1919, a period known as “Red Summer.” Read more about the 1919 events in Longview, Texas, at the Texas State Historical Association and in the Crisis article from October 1919 (“The Riot of Longview Texas,” p. 297). In retaliation, a group of white men threw stones at Williams until he drowned. READ MORE: Red Summer of 1919: How Black WWI Vets Fought Back Against Racist Mobs. The "Red Summer" of 1919 Civil rights leader James Weldon Johnson used the term "Red Summer" to describe the summer of 1919. The Red Summer of 1919 refers to a series of race riots that took place between May and October of that year.Although riots occurred in more than thirty cities throughout the U.S., the bloodiest events were in Chicago, Washington D.C., and Elaine, Arkansas. CHICAGO (AP) — On a hot July day in 1919, a black 17-year-old swimming in Lake Michigan drifted in a dangerous direction — toward the white section of a Chicago beach. In response to this, Claude McKay wrote his poem If WeMust Die. Jim Crow in the North. Violent and bloody race riots engulfed towns and cities across the nation. The North was not immune to Jim Crow-like laws. His poem’s speaker encourages his allies to … By NOREEN NASIR July 24, 2019 GMT. In 1919, the United States experienced a wave of violence and race riots against the African-American community called the Red Summer of 1919. AP takes a closer look at the “Red Summer” of 1919. The Red Summer of 1919. The Chicago race-riots of 1919 were sparked by the drowning of a black teenager named Eugene Williams on July 27 of that summer. July 25, 2019 GMT. Despite the events of the Red Summer, 1.2 million black men would enlist in World War II. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/chicago-race-riot-of-1919 In most instances, whites fell upon African Americans in mass attacks that developed out of strikes and economic competition. If We Must Die was written as a response to what is now called the Red Summer of 1919. Segregation among issues Chicago faces 100 years after riots. During this summer, there was a rise in hate crime, race riots, and overall violence towards the black community. America in the summer of 1919 ran red with blood from racial violence, yet today, 100 years later, not many people know 'Red Summer' even happened. Williams was swimming in Lake Michigan and crossed the unofficial racial barrier that separated the black and white beachgoers. Of strikes and economic competition Claude McKay wrote his poem If WeMust what was the red summer of 1919 quizlet sparked by drowning! 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