Race Riots In Houston

Shortly after the United States declared war on the German Empire in the spring of 1917, the War Department rushed to construct two new military installations in Harris County, Texas — Camp Logan and Ellington Field. As the war was progressing abroad, our own war was taking place here in Houston. On July 27, 1917, the Army ordered the Third Battalion of the Twenty-fourth United States Infantry Regiment to Houston to guard the Camp Logan construction site. The regiment traveled to Houston by train from their camp at Columbus, New Mexico, accompanied by seven white commissioned officers. The Camp Logan riot began the evening of August 23, when 156 angry soldiers stole weapons from the camp depot and marched on the city of Houston. They were met outside the city by the police and a crowd of armed citizens, frightened by the reports of a mutiny. A race riot began, which left 20 people dead - four soldiers, four policemen, and 12 civilians. Order was restored the next day, and the War Department disarmed the soldiers. The Third Battalion was sent by rail

German-Americans became targets for numerous hate crimes. On a local level, schoolchildren were beaten on schoolyards, and yellow paint was marked on front doors. Colleges and high schools seized to instruct the German language. These unmerited crimes against innocent German-Americans went completely unpunished. Daily life was pretentious as men were drafted and sent abroad, and women had to fill their places in the factories. Many African-Americans were drafted into the war and felt a continued sense of racism towards them as they saw different country men of white color being treated better than they were. Women had to take on a lot more responsibility as they had to replace the men that were drafted into war. Children had to work as well from a young age as the need for more income by families was