1919 Racial Violence

The year 1919 was the most horrific year in American history in terms of racial violence. David F. Krugler clearly describes the horrendous events that occurred during this year in his book 1919, The Year of Racial Violence: How African Americans Fought Back. According to the book, "Between late 1918 and 1919, the United States recorded ten major race riots, dozens of minor, racially charged clashes, and almost 100 lynchings as white Americans tried to enforce the continued subjugation of black Americans in the postwar era" (Krugler 3). Extremely violent mob attacks and the lynching of African Americans were very common occurrences throughout the entire country with some states having more acts of violence than others. I thought Krugler's book was an incredibly informative read because it gave honest, raw details of anti-black acts of violence and was focused on various African Americans' perspectives during this critical time.

First off, the book emphasizes on the great importance of the year 1919. It describes the major race riots that occurred during this year, from a deadly riot in Charleston, South Carolina in May of 1919 to a major riot in Bogalusa, Louisiana in November of 1919. Unlike some other books describing this time period, this particular one shows the violence that occurred from

I really enjoyed how it was different than other books in that it was based off of black people's perspectives in order to show just how terrible the mob attacks and struggles for freedom really were. The specific details Krugler used from the first-hand accounts to describe the events really made me understand the events much clearer than reading out of a normal history book would. He used such vivid details that I could almost picture just how treacherous the riots were. He proved his thesis very well by reinforcing the importance of the year