This Day in History

Nov. 3, 1883: Danville Riot

Time Periods: 1877
Themes: African American, Reconstruction, Democracy & Citizenship

The Danville Riot occurred on Nov. 3, 1883.

White supremacists resented the biracial Readjuster Party which controlled the city council seats in the majority African American city of Danville, Virginia in 1882.

An attack by white supremacists left four Black and one white man dead.

In the aftermath, armed white men patrolled the streets of the town, preventing most African Americans from voting and allowing the Democratic Party to regain political power in the town. Read more in the Encyclopedia Virginia.