Analysis Of The Forsyth County Race Riots Of 1912

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After the Emancipation Proclamation was signed and the Civil War had ended, former slaves were left to start over from nothing. This period is also known as Reconstruction (Foner, 2023). During the Reconstruction era of the United States, racial terror and violence were rampant. Many African Americans were subject to terrorizing tactics such as lynchings, night-riding, and other macabre acts. For context, “Between the end of the Civil War and the 1940s, approximately 100 White massacres directed against Black communities took place” (Darity Jr, 2022). Hardly any lynchings led to mass expulsions of African Americans from their communities, until the Forsyth County Race Riots of 1912. The Forsyth County Race Riots of 1912 were a tragic manifestation of deep-seated racial tensions, fueled by white supremacist ideology and a desire to maintain racial segregation. Through an analysis of the cause, event, …show more content…

“Nightriders”, or bands of white men threatened and intimidated Black residents into fleeing elsewhere. This was done with the main goal of keeping control of who lived in Forsyth County. This was done through scare tactics, threats, and rumors of Black men being out of control, especially around White women (Cooper, 2021). Nightriders came into Oscarville and warned the Black residents to leave in 24 hours or be killed. Those who did not leave faced intense harassment, shooting into their homes, death, and their livestock killed. Black residents were being forced to leave out of fear of violence, terror, and losing everything they had worked for. Out of the 58 families who owned their property, 24 sold theirs for extremely low-ball offers. Some had to sell theirs for one-third of what they paid due to the exigent circumstances. The remaining 34 property owners just left theirs and fled. After the riots, around 98% of the Black population had left Forsyth