Massacres in U.S. History

Here is a list of some of the countless massacres in the history of the United States.

Most of these massacres were designed to suppress voting rights, land ownership, economic advancement, education, freedom of the press, religion, LGBTQ rights, and/or labor rights of African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians, and immigrants. While often referred to as “race riots,” they were massacres to maintain white supremacy.

One of the best explanations about why it is important for students to learn this history is included in the article (and related lesson) by Linda Christensen, Burning Tulsa: The Legacy of Black Dispossession.

A tweet thread by historian Stephen West shows how politicians fueled hate crimes during the Reconstruction era, with parallels today. Ursula Wolfe-Rocca writes about Red Summer of 1919, Remembering Red Summer — Which Textbooks Seem Eager to Forget.

We also offer a list of massacres that includes these same events and massacres in other countries. While this list includes dozens of entries, it is by no means complete.

Oct. 12, 1898: Battle of Virden

A small band of striking coal miners in southern Illinois called out Chicago coal barons and stood their ground at Virden.

Nov. 10, 1898: Wilmington Massacre

The interracial, elected Reconstruction era local government was deposed in a coup d’etat in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Aug. 14, 1908: Springfield Massacre

Springfield Massacre was committed against African Americans by a mob of about 5,000 white people in Springfield, Illinois.

July 29, 1910: Slocum Massacre in Texas

Citizens in the small, predominately African American town of Slocum, Texas, were massacred.

April 20, 1914: Ludlow Massacre

The National Guard fired on striking miners and their families in Ludlow, Colorado.

Jan. 28, 1918: Porvenir Massacre

Fifteen Mexican-Americans were killed by Texas Rangers during the Porvenir Massacre.

soldiers at a YWCA Hostess House | Zinn Education Project

July 19, 1919: White Mobs in Uniform Attack African Americans — Who Fight Back — in Washington, D.C.

White mobs, incited by the media, attacked the African American community in Washington, D.C., and African American soldiers returning from WWI. This was one of the many violent events that summer and it was distinguished by strong and organized Black resistance to the white violence.

Riot Sweeps Chicago | Zinn Education Project

July 27, 1919: Red Summer in Chicago

Sparked by a white police officer's refusal to make an arrest in the murder of a Black teenager, Chicago's Red Summer violence lasted almost a week. At least 38 people were killed and thousands of Black homes were looted and damaged.

Robert Hill Elaine Massacre | Zinn Education Project

Sept. 30, 1919: Elaine Massacre

Black farmers were massacred in Elaine, Arkansas for their efforts to fight for better pay and higher cotton prices. A white mob shot at them, and the farmers returned fire in self-defense. Estimates range from 100-800 killed, and 67 survivors were indicted for inciting violence.

Bogalusa, La. lumber mill | Zinn Education Project

Nov. 22, 1919: Bogalusa Labor Massacre, Attack on Interracial Solidarity

The Bogalusa Labor Massacre was an attack on interracial labor solidarity.

Nov. 2, 1920: The Ocoee Massacre

More than 50 African Americans killed in the Ocoee Massacre after going to vote in Florida.

May 31, 1921: Tulsa Massacre

In what became known as the Tulsa Massacre, white supremacists destroyed a thriving Black community in Oklahoma. This is one of countless white supremacist massacres in U.S. history.

Jan. 1, 1923: Rosewood Massacre

The Rosewood Massacre was the white supremacist destruction of a Black town and the murder of many of its residents.

Charles Spurgeon Rucks | Zinn Education Project

Dec. 29, 1923: Terror Attack on African Americans in Catcher, Arkansas

The Catcher "Race Riot" began, leading to the creation of another sundown town.

March 21, 1937: Ponce Massacre

Police shot peaceful protesters, killing 19 and wounding over 200 others in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

May 30, 1937: Memorial Day Massacre

On Memorial Day, Chicago Police Department shot and killed ten unarmed demonstrators in Chicago.

July 11, 1947: Anguilla Prison Massacre

A camp warden and guards shot dead seven prisoners being held at the Anguilla Prison in Georgia. The Anguilla Prison Massacre Quilt Project tells that story, drawing on records from the NAACP.

Feb. 8, 1968: Orangeburg Massacre

Two years before the Kent State murders, 28 students were injured and three were killed in Orangeburg, South Carolina — most shot in the back by the state police while involved in a peaceful protest.

June 24, 1973: UpStairs Lounge Massacre

The largest LGBTQ massacre in U.S. history (until the Orlando Massacre) occurred at the UpStairs Lounge in New Orleans.

Greensboro Massacre Protest (photo) | Zinn Education Project

Nov. 3, 1979: Greensboro Massacre

Five people were killed when the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis fired on an anti-Klan rally in Greensboro, North Carolina.

May 13, 1985: Philadelphia Police Bomb MOVE

The Philadelphia Police Department dropped a C-4 bomb on the home of the MOVE organization, killing eleven people (including five children) and wiping out half a city block and .

Visitors look at a memorial near the entrance of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin Wednesday, July 31, 2013, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin

Aug. 5, 2012: The Sikh Temple of Wisconsin Massacre

A white supremacist shot and killed six members of the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

June 17, 2015: Charleston Church Massacre

Nine African American churchgoers were gunned down inside a church in an act of white supremacist terrorism.

Hate Will Not Define Us | Zinn Education Project

Oct. 24 and 27, 2018: Hate Crimes in Kentucky and Pennsylvania

Two hate crime shootings in one week, one of African Americans in Kentucky and the other of Jews in Pittsburgh.