Knoxville Riot of 1919
Encyclopedia
The Knoxville Riot of 1919 was a race riot
that took place in Knoxville, Tennessee
, USA, on August 30–31, 1919. The riot began when a lynch mob stormed the county jail in search of Maurice Mayes, a mulatto
man who had been accused of murdering a white woman. Unable to find Mayes, the rioters looted the jail and fought a pitched gun battle with the residents of a predominantly black neighborhood. The Tennessee National Guard, which at one point fired two machine guns indiscriminately into this neighborhood, eventually dispersed the rioters. Newspapers placed the death toll at just two, though eyewitness accounts suggest it was much higher.
The Riot of 1919 was one of several violent racial incidents that occurred during the so-called Red Summer
, when race riots plagued cities across the United States. The riot was one of the worst racial episodes in Knoxville's history, and shattered the city's vision of itself as a racially tolerant Southern town. After the riot, many black residents left Knoxville, and racial violence continued to flare up sporadically in subsequent years.
, Knoxville was considered by both black and white residents to be one of the few racially tolerant cities in the South
. It was one of the few where black citizens could vote, hold public office,and serve as police officers. In 1918, Charles W. Cansler
(1871–1953), one of the city's leading African-American citizens, wrote to the governor of Tennessee, "In no place in the world can there be found better relations existing between the races than here in our own county of Knox. No race riots have ever disgraced our city and no mob has ever vented its fury here upon any Negro victim."
During the recession
that followed World War I
, however, migrants poured into Knoxville, overcrowding the city's slums. This increased competition for an already diminished number of jobs, and heightened tensions between black residents and working class
whites. Both the Ku Klux Klan
and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
set up chapters in Knoxville in 1918. Furthermore, in the summer of 1919, a prowler known as "Pants," described by victims as a light-skinned Negro, had been burglarizing homes and attacking white women, though he had attracted little attention from Knoxville police.
Patrolman White suggested they question Maurice Mayes, a prominent mulatto
who operated the Stroller's Cafe on East Jackson. While raised by foster parents, Mayes is believed to have been the illegitimate son of Knoxville's mayor, John E. McMillan, and had actually been canvassing for McMillan on the day of the murder. Mayes had a reputation for associating with both black and white women, making him unpopular with many of the city's white residents. Patrolman Smith later testified that Officer White specifically singled out Mayes because of a personal grudge.
About 3:30 AM, Knoxville police arrived at the Mayes home on Humes Street. The only evidence they found was a .38 revolver, which the officers decided must have been fired recently. (Smith later testified the gun was cold and unlikely to have been fired recently.) They arrested Mayes, and took him back to Eighth Street, where the distraught Ora Smyth identified him as the intruder.
to the larger Knox County
Jail on Hill Avenue. Knox County's sheriff
, W.T. Cate, then had Mayes transferred to Chattanooga. By noon, news of the murder had spread, and a crowd of curious onlookers had gathered at the county jail, thinking Mayes was being held there. A larger, angrier crowd had gathered on Market Square. By late afternoon, the crowd at Market Square had grown to about 5,000.
At 5:00 PM, the crowd at the jail became hostile, demanding Mayes be brought out. Deputy sheriff Carroll Cate (the sheriff's nephew) and jailer Earl Hall assured them Mayes was not there, and allowed several members of the crowd to inspect the jail. Jim Claiborne, an intoxicated member of this crowd, walked to Market Square and told the crowd there that Mayes was at the county jail, and that Cate and Hall were hiding him. Jim Dalton, a 72-year old iron worker, called for Mayes to be lynch
ed, and the 5,000-strong mob roared towards the jail.
Unable to convince the mob that Mayes was not in their custody, Cate and Hall locked the jail's riot doors. At about 8:30, the rioters dynamite
d their way into the jail, ransacking it floor by floor in search of Mayes. They discovered and consumed a large portion of the jail's confiscated whiskey, and also stole as many firearms as they could find. They freed 16 white prisoners.
Two platoons of the Tennessee National Guard's 4th Infantry, led by Adjutant General Edward Sweeney, arrived, but they were unable to halt the chaos.
the jail and Sheriff Tate's house, the mob returned to Market Square, where they dispatched five truckloads of rioters to Chattanooga to find Mayes. General Sweeney, awaiting the arrival of reinforcements, pleaded with the rioters to disperse. Meanwhile, many of the city's black residents, aware of the race riots that had occurred across the country that summer, had armed themselves, and had barricaded the intersection of Vine and Central to defend their businesses.
As the trucks began to depart, shots rang out on Central, and it was falsely reported that two soldiers had been killed. Sweeney immediately ordered his guardsmen toward Vine, and the mob followed. Along the way, rioters broke into stores on Gay Street
to steal firearms and other weapons. As the guardsmen turned onto Vine, the street erupted in gunfire as black snipers exchanged fire with both the rioters and the soldiers. The National Guard set up two Browning machine gun
s on Vine, and opened fire toward Central. One guardsman, 24-year-old Lieutenant James William Payne, was shot and wounded by a sniper
, and as he staggered into the street, he was cut to pieces by friendly fire from the machine guns.
Shooting continued sporadically for several hours. The black defenders charged the machine guns several times, but failed to capture them. Among those killed was a black shopkeeper and Spanish-American War
veteran named Joe Etter, who was shot when he attempted single-handedly to capture one of the machine guns. Outgunned, the black defenders gradually fled Central and dispersed, allowing the guardsmen to gain control of Vine and Central in the early morning hours of August 31.
Knoxville's newspapers placed the death toll at just two (Etter and Payne), though eyewitness accounts say it was much higher. Deputy Carroll Cate estimated that between 25 and 30 had been killed, while National Guard Major Maurice Martin placed it between 30 and 40. Others placed the death toll in the hundreds. By some accounts, the dead were so many that the bodies were dumped into the Tennessee River
, while others were buried in mass graves outside the city.
In October 1919, Mayes's trial began. Former mayor Samuel Heiskell served as a special prosecutor, while Mayes was defended by defense attorney Reuben Cates and prominent black attorney William F. Yardley
. Although there was no motive and virtually no evidence, Mayes was convicted. The case was eventually overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court, but Mayes was convicted in a retrial in April 1921. He was executed on March 15, 1922. Fifty-five white rioters were charged with various minor offenses in October 1919, but all were acquitted.
In the weeks following the riot, many of the city's African-American leaders argued that the rioters did not represent the typical attitude of Knoxville's white citizens, though hundreds of black residents nevertheless left the city for good. Another riot nearly occurred in 1921, and flare-ups would take place sporadically for years afterward. In 1926, former mayor John McMillan, believed to have been Mayes's biological father, committed suicide
.
Race riot
A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...
that took place in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, USA, on August 30–31, 1919. The riot began when a lynch mob stormed the county jail in search of Maurice Mayes, a mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
man who had been accused of murdering a white woman. Unable to find Mayes, the rioters looted the jail and fought a pitched gun battle with the residents of a predominantly black neighborhood. The Tennessee National Guard, which at one point fired two machine guns indiscriminately into this neighborhood, eventually dispersed the rioters. Newspapers placed the death toll at just two, though eyewitness accounts suggest it was much higher.
The Riot of 1919 was one of several violent racial incidents that occurred during the so-called Red Summer
Red Summer of 1919
Red Summer describes the race riots that occurred in more than three dozen cities in the United States during the summer and early autumn of 1919. In most instances, whites attacked African Americans. In some cases groups of blacks fought back, notably in Chicago, where, along with Washington, D.C....
, when race riots plagued cities across the United States. The riot was one of the worst racial episodes in Knoxville's history, and shattered the city's vision of itself as a racially tolerant Southern town. After the riot, many black residents left Knoxville, and racial violence continued to flare up sporadically in subsequent years.
Post-World War I racial tensions
In the decades following the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Knoxville was considered by both black and white residents to be one of the few racially tolerant cities in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. It was one of the few where black citizens could vote, hold public office,and serve as police officers. In 1918, Charles W. Cansler
Charles W. Cansler
Charles Warner Cansler was an American educator, civil rights advocate, and author, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA...
(1871–1953), one of the city's leading African-American citizens, wrote to the governor of Tennessee, "In no place in the world can there be found better relations existing between the races than here in our own county of Knox. No race riots have ever disgraced our city and no mob has ever vented its fury here upon any Negro victim."
During the recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
that followed World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, however, migrants poured into Knoxville, overcrowding the city's slums. This increased competition for an already diminished number of jobs, and heightened tensions between black residents and working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
whites. Both the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
set up chapters in Knoxville in 1918. Furthermore, in the summer of 1919, a prowler known as "Pants," described by victims as a light-skinned Negro, had been burglarizing homes and attacking white women, though he had attracted little attention from Knoxville police.
Murder of Bertie Lindsey
Around 2:30 AM on August 30, 1919, an intruder broke into the home of Mrs. Bertie Lindsey on Eighth Street, where she had been staying with her cousin, Ora Smyth. The intruder shot and killed Lindsey, but Smyth managed to escape to the home of a neighbor who summoned police. Two patrolmen, Jim Smith and Andy White, arrived on the scene. Smyth described the intruder as a light-skinned Negro.Patrolman White suggested they question Maurice Mayes, a prominent mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
who operated the Stroller's Cafe on East Jackson. While raised by foster parents, Mayes is believed to have been the illegitimate son of Knoxville's mayor, John E. McMillan, and had actually been canvassing for McMillan on the day of the murder. Mayes had a reputation for associating with both black and white women, making him unpopular with many of the city's white residents. Patrolman Smith later testified that Officer White specifically singled out Mayes because of a personal grudge.
About 3:30 AM, Knoxville police arrived at the Mayes home on Humes Street. The only evidence they found was a .38 revolver, which the officers decided must have been fired recently. (Smith later testified the gun was cold and unlikely to have been fired recently.) They arrested Mayes, and took him back to Eighth Street, where the distraught Ora Smyth identified him as the intruder.
Storming of the jail
Sensing trouble, Knoxville police transferred Mayes from the small city jail on Market SquareMarket Square, Knoxville
Market Square is a pedestrian mall located in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Established in 1854 as a market place for regional farmers, the square has developed over the decades into a multipurpose venue that accommodates events ranging from concerts to political rallies, and has long provided a...
to the larger Knox County
Knox County, Tennessee
Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its 2007 population was estimated at 423,874 by the United States Census Bureau. Its county seat is Knoxville, as it has been since the creation of the county. The county is at the geographical center of the Great Valley of East Tennessee...
Jail on Hill Avenue. Knox County's sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, W.T. Cate, then had Mayes transferred to Chattanooga. By noon, news of the murder had spread, and a crowd of curious onlookers had gathered at the county jail, thinking Mayes was being held there. A larger, angrier crowd had gathered on Market Square. By late afternoon, the crowd at Market Square had grown to about 5,000.
At 5:00 PM, the crowd at the jail became hostile, demanding Mayes be brought out. Deputy sheriff Carroll Cate (the sheriff's nephew) and jailer Earl Hall assured them Mayes was not there, and allowed several members of the crowd to inspect the jail. Jim Claiborne, an intoxicated member of this crowd, walked to Market Square and told the crowd there that Mayes was at the county jail, and that Cate and Hall were hiding him. Jim Dalton, a 72-year old iron worker, called for Mayes to be lynch
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
ed, and the 5,000-strong mob roared towards the jail.
Unable to convince the mob that Mayes was not in their custody, Cate and Hall locked the jail's riot doors. At about 8:30, the rioters dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
d their way into the jail, ransacking it floor by floor in search of Mayes. They discovered and consumed a large portion of the jail's confiscated whiskey, and also stole as many firearms as they could find. They freed 16 white prisoners.
Two platoons of the Tennessee National Guard's 4th Infantry, led by Adjutant General Edward Sweeney, arrived, but they were unable to halt the chaos.
Gun battle at Central and Vine
After lootingLooting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
the jail and Sheriff Tate's house, the mob returned to Market Square, where they dispatched five truckloads of rioters to Chattanooga to find Mayes. General Sweeney, awaiting the arrival of reinforcements, pleaded with the rioters to disperse. Meanwhile, many of the city's black residents, aware of the race riots that had occurred across the country that summer, had armed themselves, and had barricaded the intersection of Vine and Central to defend their businesses.
As the trucks began to depart, shots rang out on Central, and it was falsely reported that two soldiers had been killed. Sweeney immediately ordered his guardsmen toward Vine, and the mob followed. Along the way, rioters broke into stores on Gay Street
Gay Street (Knoxville)
Gay Street is a street in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, that traverses the heart of the city's downtown area. Since its development in the 1790s, Gay Street has served as the city's principal financial and commercial thoroughfare, and has played a primary role in the city's historical and cultural...
to steal firearms and other weapons. As the guardsmen turned onto Vine, the street erupted in gunfire as black snipers exchanged fire with both the rioters and the soldiers. The National Guard set up two Browning machine gun
Browning machine gun
Any of the following designs by John Browning, a prolific weapon designer, may be referred to as a Browning machine gun:*M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun*M1917 Browning machine gun, a family of water-cooled machine guns in .30-'06...
s on Vine, and opened fire toward Central. One guardsman, 24-year-old Lieutenant James William Payne, was shot and wounded by a sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
, and as he staggered into the street, he was cut to pieces by friendly fire from the machine guns.
Shooting continued sporadically for several hours. The black defenders charged the machine guns several times, but failed to capture them. Among those killed was a black shopkeeper and Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
veteran named Joe Etter, who was shot when he attempted single-handedly to capture one of the machine guns. Outgunned, the black defenders gradually fled Central and dispersed, allowing the guardsmen to gain control of Vine and Central in the early morning hours of August 31.
The riot's end
The National Guard immediately barricaded Central, and aggressively searched all black residences inside the barricaded zone. A citywide curfew was imposed, and 200 white citizens were temporarily deputized. Scattered reports of violence persisted throughout the day. Two African American residents, Carter Watkins and Claude Chambers, were shot and killed at a train depot as they tried to flee. A deaf black woman was shot when she failed to heed a guardsman's orders to halt.Knoxville's newspapers placed the death toll at just two (Etter and Payne), though eyewitness accounts say it was much higher. Deputy Carroll Cate estimated that between 25 and 30 had been killed, while National Guard Major Maurice Martin placed it between 30 and 40. Others placed the death toll in the hundreds. By some accounts, the dead were so many that the bodies were dumped into the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
, while others were buried in mass graves outside the city.
Aftermath
Knoxville's leaders refused to believe the Riot of 1919 was the result of racial tensions. The Knoxville Journal denied a race riot had occurred, but insisted the entire incident was nothing more than the city's "rabble" running amok. Congressman John Chiles Houk argued that the lynch mob would have gone after a white murderer just as eagerly as they had gone after Mayes.In October 1919, Mayes's trial began. Former mayor Samuel Heiskell served as a special prosecutor, while Mayes was defended by defense attorney Reuben Cates and prominent black attorney William F. Yardley
William F. Yardley
William Francis Yardley was an American attorney, politician and civil rights advocate, operating primarily out of Knoxville, Tennessee, in the late 19th century. He was Tennessee's first African American gubernatorial candidate, and is believed to have been the first African American attorney to...
. Although there was no motive and virtually no evidence, Mayes was convicted. The case was eventually overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court, but Mayes was convicted in a retrial in April 1921. He was executed on March 15, 1922. Fifty-five white rioters were charged with various minor offenses in October 1919, but all were acquitted.
In the weeks following the riot, many of the city's African-American leaders argued that the rioters did not represent the typical attitude of Knoxville's white citizens, though hundreds of black residents nevertheless left the city for good. Another riot nearly occurred in 1921, and flare-ups would take place sporadically for years afterward. In 1926, former mayor John McMillan, believed to have been Mayes's biological father, committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Further reading
- Booker, Robert J. The Heat of a Red Summer: Race Mixing, Race Rioting in 1919 Knoxville (Rutledge Books, 2001).
- Williams, Lee E. Anatomy of Four Race Riots: Racial Conflict in Knoxville, Elaine (Arkansas), Tulsa, and Chicago, 1919-1921 (Books on Demand, 1999).
External links
- Effort to Clear Name Falls on Deaf Ears – Knoxville News Sentinel article by Robert Booker
- The Quest for a Late Reprieve for Maurice Mays – Metro Pulse article by Jack Neely