On July 1, rumors and armed attacks set off white mob violence against Black residents during which whites turned on Black people, indiscriminately stabbing, clubbing, and hanging them and driving some 6,000 people from their homes. Per official record, 40 Black people and 8 white people were killed although it is believed that there were more than 100 Black fatalities.
During World War I, thousands of Black families fled the Jim Crow South seeking factory jobs in East St. Louis. Employers often recruited Black workers to break white labor strikes, fueling resentment among some white workers. Politicians and newspapers inflamed racial fears with false rumors and racist propaganda, turning economic tensions into racial hatred.
White mobs then unleashed days of terror on the city’s Black community. Men, women, and children were beaten, shot, lynched, and burned alive as homes and businesses were set on fire. Many victims were attacked while trying to flee the flames. Although the official death toll was 39 Black victims, historians believe well over 100 people may have been killed, and roughly 6,000 Black residents were left homeless. The massacre became one of the deadliest episodes of racial violence in American history.
A key point that’s often overlooked is that Black workers did not create the labor system that angered white workers. Factory owners recruited them—often because white workers were on strike or because employers wanted a cheaper, more compliant workforce. Instead of directing their anger at the companies benefiting from these practices, many white mobs targeted Black families who were simply seeking safety and economic opportunity. Racist ideology and sensationalized rumors helped transform labor conflict into mass racial violence.
