place

East St. Louis massacre

1917 in Illinois1917 murders in the United States1917 riotsAfrican-American history of IllinoisEast St. Louis, Illinois
History of racism in IllinoisJuly 1917 eventsLabor-related riots in the United StatesLabor disputes in the United StatesLynching deaths in IllinoisMass murder in 1917Massacres in the United StatesMay 1917 eventsRacially motivated violence against African AmericansRiots and civil disorder in IllinoisUnited States home front during World War IUse American English from July 2022Use mdy dates from July 2017White American riots in the United States
East St Louis Massacre cartoon, Morris
East St Louis Massacre cartoon, Morris

The East St. Louis massacre was a series of labor and race-related attacks by White Americans who murdered between 39 and 150 African Americans in late May and early July 1917. Another 6,000 black people were left homeless, and the burning and vandalism cost approximately $400,000 ($8.46 million in 2021) in property damage. The events took place in and near East St. Louis, Illinois, an industrial city on the east bank of the Mississippi River, directly opposite the city of St. Louis, Missouri. The July 1917 episode in particular was marked by white-led violence throughout the city. The multi-day rioting has been described as the "worst case of labor-related violence in 20th-century American history", and among the worst racial riots in U.S. history. In the aftermath, the East St. Louis Chamber of Commerce called for the resignation of the local police chief because officers were told not to shoot white rioters and were unable to suppress the violence and destruction. A number of black people left the city permanently; black enrollment in public schools in the area had dropped by 35% by the time schools opened in the fall. At the end of July, some 10,000 black citizens marched in silent protest in New York City in condemnation of the riot.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article East St. Louis massacre (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

East St. Louis massacre
East Broadway,

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: East St. Louis massacreContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 38.622222222222 ° E -90.158333333333 °
placeShow on map

Address

East Broadway

East Broadway
62205
Illinois, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

East St Louis Massacre cartoon, Morris
East St Louis Massacre cartoon, Morris
Share experience

Nearby Places

Downtown East St. Louis Historic District
Downtown East St. Louis Historic District

The Downtown East St. Louis Historic District is a historic commercial district in downtown East St. Louis, Illinois. The district includes 35 buildings, 25 of which are contributing buildings, along Collinsville Avenue, Missouri Avenue, and St. Louis Avenue; all but one of the buildings was historically used for commercial purposes. While development in the area dates back to the late 19th century, the first of the extant buildings in the district were built around 1900 after a tornado devastated the area in 1896. By 1910, the area had become a prosperous commercial district with stores, offices, and entertainment venues; surviving buildings from this period include the Murphy Building and the Cahokia Building. Another large building boom took place in the 1920s, adding buildings such as the Spivey Building, the city's only skyscraper; the Union Trust Bank Company Building, the largest bank in the city; the Grossman Building; and the Majestic Theatre. The new buildings both coincided with a population and economic expansion in the city and allowed it to forge an architectural identity distinct from neighboring St. Louis.Beginning in the 1960s, East St. Louis and its downtown entered a period of dramatic decline. Several major businesses left the city for other suburbs, urban decay and blight struck the city, resulting in the abandonment or demolition of several major commercial buildings. In addition, the rise of the automobile and the construction of new expressways took foot traffic away from the downtown area, furthering the decline of its businesses. The city's population is now one-third of its peak in 1950, and many of the district's buildings are abandoned and at risk of demolition or major decay.The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 2014.