3.6 White Supremacist Violence and the Red Summer

Between 1917 and 1921, white supremacist mobs unleashed a wave of violence against Black communities across the United States, with 1919's "Red Summer" and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre as the most severe outbreaks. African Americans fought back through political activism, published writing, and armed self-defense, while many left the South in the early stages of the Great Migration.

Why This Matters for the AP African American Studies Exam

This topic builds your ability to explain causation, which is a core skill on the AP African American Studies exam. You need to connect specific causes (returning Black veterans, job competition, the 1918-19 flu pandemic, and white resentment of Black success) to specific effects (race riots, harmed wealth, and migration north).

It also gives you required sources to analyze. Claude McKay's poem "If We Must Die" and the three Tulsa Race Massacre photographs are evidence you can use to support arguments about resistance, racial violence, and the loss of Black wealth. Practice reading these sources for tone, message, and historical context, since source analysis shows up throughout the exam.

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Key Takeaways

• The "Red Summer" of 1919, a term coined by James Weldon Johnson, saw more than 30 urban race riots in a single summer.
• Causes of the violence between 1917 and 1921 included a global flu pandemic, competition for jobs, and discrimination against Black World War I veterans.
• The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre harmed more than 1,250 homes and businesses in Greenwood, known as "Black Wall Street," one of the most affluent Black communities in the country.
• This racial violence blocked many Black families from building and passing down wealth and property.
• African Americans resisted through political activism, published accounts, and armed self-defense.
• This violence and the lack of economic opportunity in the South helped spark the beginnings of the Great Migration.

White Supremacist Violence and the Red Summer

From 1917 to 1921, the United States saw a surge in white supremacist violence aimed at Black communities. The most intense moment came in the summer of 1919, which the writer and activist James Weldon Johnson named the "Red Summer." That summer alone, more than 30 urban race riots broke out across the country.

This period sits inside the "nadir," the low point of American race relations that stretched from the end of Reconstruction to World War II. The violence here is closely tied to other Unit 3 topics: it pushed forward the Great Migration (Topic 3.16) and shaped the cultural energy of the Harlem Renaissance (Topic 3.11), where Claude McKay was a key figure.

Causes of the Violence

Several pressures combined between 1917 and 1921 to fuel white supremacist attacks.

• Returning Black World War I veterans. Black soldiers had served the country, then came home to racial violence and discrimination. Their demand for full citizenship and respect provoked white backlash.
• Competition for jobs. As African Americans moved into Northern and Midwestern cities, competition for work and housing sharpened racial tensions.
• The 1918-1919 flu pandemic. The global flu pandemic caused widespread illness and death, adding to social strain.
• White resentment of Black success. In places like Greenwood, the prosperity of Black-owned businesses fueled hostility from white residents.

The Tulsa Race Massacre (1921)

In 1921, a mob of white residents and city officials incited the Tulsa Race Massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The attack targeted the Greenwood District, known as "Black Wall Street," which was one of the most affluent African American communities in the United States.

• More than 1,250 homes and businesses were harmed.
• Greenwood's Black banks, shops, and homes were burned to the ground.
• The destruction of Black property and businesses during this era prevented many African American families from building and passing down generational wealth.

A lasting takeaway here: racial violence in the twentieth century did not just harm and displace people in the moment. It also blocked the long-term transfer of wealth and property across Black families, widening economic gaps that lasted for generations.

How African Americans Responded

Black communities did not simply absorb these attacks. They resisted in several ways.

• Political activism. African Americans organized and pushed for legal protections and anti-lynching efforts.
• Published accounts. Writers and journalists documented the violence and challenged the racism behind it. Claude McKay's poem "If We Must Die" is a clear example of resistance through writing.
• Armed self-defense. Some African Americans took up arms to protect their homes and communities from mob attacks.

The Beginnings of the Great Migration

Racial discrimination and violence, combined with the lack of economic opportunity in the South, helped spark the beginnings of the Great Migration. Many Black families left the Jim Crow South in search of safety and better jobs in the North, Midwest, and West. You will study this movement in much more depth in Topic 3.16.

Required Sources

"If We Must Die" by Claude McKay, 1919

Claude McKay, a Jamaican poet and key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, wrote "If We Must Die" during the Red Summer of 1919. The poem encouraged African Americans to preserve their dignity and fight back against anti-Black violence and discrimination. Its defiant tone made it an enduring symbol of Black resistance.

When you analyze this source, notice how the speaker reframes dying as something done with honor and courage rather than helplessness. The repeated call to "fight back" connects directly to the required theme of armed self-defense and resistance.

Photograph of the Greenwood District Burning During the Tulsa Race Massacre, 1921

Photograph of Black Men with Hands Raised During the Tulsa Race Massacre, 1921

Photograph of Destruction in Greenwood After the Tulsa Race Massacre, 1921

When you analyze the three Tulsa photographs, think about what each one shows: active destruction, Black residents detained with hands raised, and the ruins left behind. Together they document both the violence and its aftermath, and they support arguments about lost Black wealth and the failure to protect Black lives and property.

How to Use This on the AP African American Studies Exam

Using Sources Effectively

Practice describing what "If We Must Die" argues and how McKay makes that argument. Tie the poem's tone to its 1919 context. For the Tulsa photographs, state what you see, then explain what it reveals about racial violence and its impact on Black communities.

Causation

Be ready to explain why racial violence spiked between 1917 and 1921. Connect specific causes (Black veterans, job competition, the flu pandemic, resentment of Black success) to specific outcomes (race riots, the Tulsa Race Massacre, lost wealth, and migration).

Continuity and Change

Use this topic to show how violence pushed change. The same conditions that fueled attacks also pushed the start of the Great Migration, which then fed Northern Black communities and the Harlem Renaissance.

Common Trap

Do not stop at describing the violence. The required content also asks you to explain how African Americans responded, so always pair the attacks with resistance: political activism, published accounts, and armed self-defense.

Common Misconceptions

• The Red Summer and the Tulsa Race Massacre are not the same event. The Red Summer refers to the wave of riots in 1919. The Tulsa Race Massacre happened in 1921. Both fall inside the larger 1917 to 1921 surge of violence.
• "Red Summer" does not refer to communism. James Weldon Johnson coined the term to describe the bloodshed of that summer, not political ideology.
• These were not equal "riots" or "clashes." They were largely organized attacks by white mobs, sometimes including city officials, against Black communities.
• African Americans were not passive victims. They resisted through activism, writing, and armed self-defense, and many chose to leave the South entirely.
• Black Wall Street's wealth was real and significant. Greenwood was one of the most affluent Black communities in the country, which is part of why its destruction had such lasting economic effects.

Related AP African American Studies Guides

• 3.10 HBCUs, Black Greek Letter Organizations, and Black Education
• 3.12 Photography and Social Change
• 3.5 Disenfranchisement and Jim Crow Laws
• 3.9 Black Organizations and Institutions
• 3.13 Envisioning Africa in Harlem Renaissance Poetry
• 3.4 The Defeat of Reconstruction