May 1, 1866 to May 5, 1866

SHELBY, Tennessee

African American, Race riot,, Crime, Black soldiers

Black subordination was the motive that drove white Southerners to start the infamous Memphis Race Riot of 1866.  May 1, 1866, whites of Memphis, Tennessee, set out to destroy black power and to “…achieve this goal in Memphis only by destroying the most potent symbols of black power in the cities- the soldiers themselves.” After three long and excruciating days of violent hazing and rioting,...