This is a list of ethnic riots by country, and includes riots based on

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established fo ...

, sectarian, xenophobic, and racial conflict. Some of these riots can also be classified as

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...

Africa

Americas

United States

Nativist period: 1700s–1860

* 1824: Providence, RI – Hard Scrabble Riots * 1829: Cincinnati, OH –

Cincinnati riots of 1829 The Cincinnati race riots of 1829 were triggered by competition for jobs between Irish immigrants and native blacks and former slaves, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States but also were related to white fears given the rapid increases of free and f ...

* 1829:

Charlestown, Massachusetts Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins ...

– anti-Catholic Riots * 1831: Providence, RI * 1834:

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

– Convent burning * 1834:

Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

– pro-slavery riots * 1834: New York, NY – New York City pro-slavery riots * 1835: Boston, MA – pro-slavery riots * 1835: Five Points Riot * 1835: Washington, D.C. – Snow Riot * 1836: Cincinnati, OH – Cincinnati riots of 1836 * 1841: Cincinnati, OH – White Irish-descendant and Irish immigrant dock workers rioted against Black dock workers. * 1844: Philadelphia, PA –

Philadelphia Nativist Riots The Philadelphia nativist riots (also known as the Philadelphia Prayer Riots, the Bible Riots and the Native American Riots) were a series of riots that took place on May 68 and July 67, 1844, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and the ...

* 1851:

Hoboken, NJ Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 ...

– anti-German riot * 1855: Louisville, KY – anti-German riots

Civil War period: 1861–1865

Reconstruction era: 1865–1877

* 1866:

New Orleans massacre of 1866 The New Orleans Massacre of 1866 occurred on July 30, when a peaceful demonstration of mostly Black Freedmen was set upon by a mob of white rioters, many of whom had been soldiers of the recently defeated Confederate States of America, leading ...

* 1866:

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

, mostly ethnic Irish against African Americans * 1868: Pulaski Riot * 1868:

St. Bernard Parish massacre St. Bernard Parish (french: Paroisse de Saint-Bernard; es, Parroquia de San Bernardo) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette, Louisiana, Chalmette. The paris ...

, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, whites against blacks * 1868: Opelousas massacre, Opelousas, Louisiana, whites against blacks * 1868: Camilla massacre, Camilla, Georgia, whites against blacks * 1870:

Eutaw massacre The Eutaw riot was an episode of white racial violence in Eutaw, Alabama, the county seat of Greene County, on October 25, 1870,Shapiro 12. during the Reconstruction Era in the United States. It was related to an extended period of campaign vi ...

, Eutaw, Alabama, whites against blacks * 1870: Laurens, South Carolina * 1870: New York City Orange Riot * 1871: Second New York City Orange Riot * 1871: Los Angeles, Chinese massacre. Mixed Mexican and white mob killed 17–20 Chinese in the largest mass lynching in U.S. history * 1871:

Meridian race riot of 1871 The Meridian race riot of 1871 was a race riot in Meridian, Mississippi in March 1871. It followed the arrest of freedmen accused of inciting riot in a downtown fire, and blacks' organizing for self-defense. Although the local Ku Klux Klan ( ...

, Meridian, Mississippi, whites against African Americans * 1891: New Orleans, lynchings of Italians and riot * 1873: Colfax massacre, white Democrats against black Republicans * 1874: Vicksburg, Mississippi * 1874: New Orleans, Louisiana (

Battle of Liberty Place The Battle of Liberty Place, or Battle of Canal Street, was an attempted insurrection and coup d'etat by the Crescent City White League against the Reconstruction Era Louisiana Republican state government on September 14, 1874, in New Orleans ...

) After contested gubernatorial election, Democrats took over state buildings for three days * 1874: Coushatta massacre, Coushatta, Louisiana, white Democrats against black Republicans * 1875: Yazoo City, Mississippi * 1875: Clinton, Mississippi * 1876: Hamburg Massacre * 1876:

Ellenton riot The Ellenton riot or Ellenton massacre occurred in September 1876. Author Mark M. Smith concluded that there was one white and up to 100 blacks killed, with several white people wounded. While John S. Reynolds and Alfred B. Williams cite much lowe ...

, Ellenton, South Carolina

Jim Crow era: 1878–1914

* 1885: Rock Springs, WY – Anti-Chinese riot * 1886: Seattle, WA –

Seattle riot of 1886 The Seattle riot of 1886 occurred on February 6–9, 1886, in Seattle, Washington, amidst rising anti-Chinese sentiment caused by intense labor competition and in the context of an ongoing struggle between labor and capital in the Western United ...

* 1891: New Orleans, LA – March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings * 1898: North Carolina – Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 (white Democrats overthrew elected government and attacked blacks) * 1898: Lake City, SC –

Lynching of Frazier B. Baker and Julia Baker Frazier B. Baker was an African-American teacher who was appointed as postmaster of Lake City, South Carolina in 1897 under the William McKinley administration. He and his infant daughter Julia Baker died at his house after being fatally shot du ...

* 1898: Greenwood County, SC – Phoenix election riot * 1900: New Orleans, LA – Robert Charles riots * 1900: Manhattan, NY – Tenderloin race riot * 1904: Springfield, OH – Springfield race riot of 1904 * 1906: Springfield, OH – Springfield race riot of 1906 * 1906: Atlanta, GA –

Atlanta Massacre of 1906 Violent attacks by armed mobs of White Americans against African Americans in Atlanta, Georgia, began on the evening of September 22, 1906, and lasted through September 24, 1906. The events were reported by newspapers around the world, includ ...

(whites against African Americans) * 1906: Brownsville, TX – Brownsville affair * 1907: Onancock, VA * 1907: San Francisco, CA and Bellingham, WA – Pacific Coast race riots of 1907 (anti-Asian) * 1908: Springfield, IL – Springfield race riot of 1908 * 1909: Omaha, NE –

Greek Town riot The Greek Town riot was a race riot that took place in South Omaha, Nebraska, on February 21, 1909, during which several Greeks were wounded or injured. A mob of 3,000 men displaced some of the population of Greek Town, wrecked 30 buildings there, ...

* 1910: Nationwide –

Johnson–Jeffries riots The Johnson–Jeffries riots refer to the dozens of race riots that occurred throughout the United States after African-American boxer Jack Johnson defeated white boxer James J. Jeffries in a boxing match termed the "Fight of the Century". Johns ...

(anti-black riots following the heavyweight championship victory of Jack Johnson against Jim Jeffries) * 1910: Slocum, TX –

Slocum massacre The Slocum Massacre occurred on July 29–30, 1910, in Slocum, Texas, an unincorporated community in Anderson County near Palestine in East Texas. Only six deaths were officially confirmed, but some 22 were reported by major newspapers. This is ...

War and interwar period: 1914–1945

* 1917: East St. Louis, IL – East St. Louis riots * 1917: Chester, PA –

1917 Chester race riot The 1917 Chester race riot was a race riot in Chester, Pennsylvania that took place over four days in July 1917. Racial tensions increased greatly during the World War I industrial boom due to white hostility toward the large influx of souther ...

* 1917: Philadelphia, PA * 1917: El Paso, TX –

1917 Bath riots 1917 Bath Riots occurred in January 1917 at the Santa Fe Bridge between El Paso, Texas and Juárez, Mexico. The riots are known to have been started by Carmelita Torres and lasted from January 28 to January 30 and were sparked by new immigration ...

* 1917: Houston, TX – Houston riot * 1919: Red Summer ** Washington, D.C. **

Chicago race riot of 1919 The Chicago race riot of 1919 was a violent racial conflict between white Americans and black Americans that began on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, on July 27 and ended on August 3, 1919. During the riot, 38 people died (23 black a ...

Omaha race riot of 1919 The Omaha Race Riot occurred in Omaha, Nebraska, September 28–29, 1919. The race riot resulted in the lynching of Will Brown, a black civilian; the death of two white rioters; the injuries of many Omaha Police Department officers and civili ...

Charleston riot of 1919 The Charleston riot of 1919 took place on the night of Saturday, May 10, between members of the US Navy and the local black population. They attacked black individuals, businesses, and homes killing six and injuring dozens. Charleston riot of 1 ...

** Longview race riot **

Knoxville riot of 1919 The Knoxville riot of 1919 was a race riot that took place in the American city of Knoxville, Tennessee, on August 30–31, 1919. The riot began when a lynch mob stormed the county jail in search of Maurice Mays, a biracial man who had been acc ...

Elaine Race Riot The Elaine massacre occurred on September 30–October 2, 1919 at Hoop Spur in the vicinity of Elaine in rural Phillips County, Arkansas. As many as several hundred African Americans and five white men were killed. Estimates of deaths made in ...

* 1920: Ocoee, FL – Ocoee Massacre * 1921: Tulsa, OK – Tulsa race massacre * 1921: Springfield, OH – Springfield race riot of 1921 * 1923: Rosewood, FL – Rosewood massacre * 1927: Yakima Valley, WA –

Yakima Valley riots The Yakima Valley riots were an expression of anti-Filipino sentiment that took place in the Yakima Valley of Washington (state) from November 8–11 in 1927. This riot took the homes and jobs lives of many Filipinos in the area. Unable to receiv ...

(anti-Filipino) * 1928: Wenatchee Valley – Wenatchee Valley anti-Filipino riot * 1929: Exeter, CA – Exeter anti-Filipino riot * 1930: Watsonville, CA –

Watsonville riots The Watsonville riots was a period of racial violence that took place in Watsonville, California, from January 19 to 23, 1930. Involving violent assaults on Filipino American farm workers by local residents opposed to immigration, the riots high ...

(anti-Filipino riot that inspired further riots and attacks in San Francisco, Salinas, San Jose, and elsewhere). * 1935: New York, NY –

Harlem riot of 1935 The Harlem riot of 1935 took place on March 19, 1935 in New York City, New York, in the United States. It has been described as the first "modern" race riot in Harlem, because it was committed primarily against property rather than persons. Harl ...

* 1943: Detroit, MI – Detroit race riot * 1943: Beaumont, TX –

Beaumont race riot of 1943 The 1943 race riot in Beaumont, Texas, erupted on June 15 and ended two days later. It related to wartime tensions in the overcrowded city, which had been flooded by workers from across the South. The immediate catalyst to white workers from t ...

* 1943: New York, NY –

Harlem riot of 1943 A race riot took place in Harlem, New York City, on August 1 and 2 of 1943, after a white police officer, James Collins, shot and wounded Robert Bandy, an African American soldier; and rumors circulated that the soldier had been killed. The r ...

* 1943: Los Angeles, CA – Zoot Suit Riots (white against Mexican Americans and other Zoot suit wearers) * 1944: Agana, Guam –

Agana race riot The Agana Race Riot (December 24–26, 1944) took place in Agana, Guam, as the result of internal disputes between white and black United States Marines. The riot was one of the most serious incidents between African-American and European-Ameri ...

Postwar era: 1946–1954

* 1946: Airport Homes race riots (series) Airport Homes race riots * 1946: Columbia, TN – Columbia race riot of 1946 * 1949: Cortlandt Manor, NY – Peekskill riots (anti-communist race riots against Jews and African Americans) * 1951: Cicero, IL – Cicero race riot

Civil rights and Black Power period: 1955–1977

* 1958: Maxton, NC –

Battle of Hayes Pond The Battle of Hayes Pond, also known as the Battle of Maxton Field or the Maxton Riot, was an armed confrontation between members of a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) organization and Lumbee Indians at a Klan rally near Maxton, North Carolina, on the night ...

* 1962: Oxford, MS – Ole Miss riot * 1963: Birmingham, AL – Birmingham Riot of 1963 * 1963: Cambridge, MD –

Cambridge riot of 1963 Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

* 1963: Lexington, NC – Lexington riot * 1964: Harlem, NY – Harlem Riot of 1964 * 1964: Rochester, NY – Rochester riot * 1964: North Philadelphia, PA – Philadelphia 1964 race riot * 1965: Los Angeles, CA – Watts Riots * 1966: Humboldt Park, Chicago, IL – Division Street riots * 1966: Cleveland, OH – Hough Riots * 1966: Omaha, NE – North Omaha summer riots * 1966: Dayton, Ohio –

1966 Dayton race riot The 1966 Dayton race riot (also known as the Dayton uprising) was a period of civil unrest in Dayton, Ohio, United States. The riot occurred on September 1 and lasted about 24 hours, ending after the Ohio National Guard had been mobilized. ...

* 1967: Long Hot Summer of 1967 ** June 2: Boston riot (Boston, MA) ** June 11 – 14: Tampa riot (Tampa, FL) ** June 12 – June 15: Cincinnati riot (Cincinnati, OH) ** June 17: Atlanta riot (Atlanta, GA) ** June 26 – July 1: Buffalo riot (Buffalo, NY) ** July 12 – 17:

Newark riots The 1967 Newark riots were an episode of violent, armed conflict in the streets of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Taking place over a four-day period (between July 12 and July 17, 1967), the Newark riots resulted in at least 26 deaths and ...

(Newark, NJ) ** July 14 – 16: Plainfield riots (Plainsfield, NJ) ** July 17: Cairo riot (Cairo, IL) ** July 20 – 21: Minneapolis riot (Minneapolis, MN) ** July 23 – 25: Toledo riot (Toledo, OH) ** July 23 – 28: Detroit riot (Detroit, MI) ** July 24: Cambridge riot (Cambridge, MD) ** July 26: Saginaw riot (Saginaw, MI) ** July 30: Albina riot (Portland, OR) ** July 30 – August 3: Milwaukee riot (Milwaukee, WI) * 1968:

Protests of 1968 The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, predominantly characterized by popular rebellions against state militaries and the bureaucracies. In the United States, these protests marked a turning point for the ci ...

Orangeburg massacre The Orangeburg massacre refers to the shooting of protesters by South Carolina Highway Patrol officers in Orangeburg, South Carolina, on the South Carolina State University campus on the evening of February 8, 1968. About 200 protesters had prev ...

(Orangeburg, SC) * 1968: King-assassination riots (riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.) **

Baltimore riot of 1968 The Baltimore riot of 1968 was a period of civil unrest that lasted from April 6 to April 14, 1968, in Baltimore. The uprising included crowds filling the streets, burning and looting local businesses, and confronting the police and national gua ...

(Baltimore, MD) ** Chicago West Side riots (Chicago, IL) **

Louisville riots of 1968 The Louisville riots of 1968 refers to riots in Louisville, Kentucky in May 1968. As in many other cities around the country, there were unrest and riots partially in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., on April 4. On May 27 ...

(Louisville, KY) **

1968 Washington, D.C. riots The Washington, D.C., riots of 1968 were a four-day period of violent civil unrest and rioting following the assassination of leading African American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., on April 4, 1968. Part of the broader Ki ...

(Washington, D.C.) ** 1968 Wilmington riots (Wilmington, DE) * 1968: Cleveland, OH – Glenville shootout and riot * 1969: York, PA – 1969 York Race Riot * 1969: New York, NY – Stonewall Riot * 1970: Augusta, GA – May 11 Race Riot * 1970: Jackson, MS – Jackson State killings * 1971: Camden, NJ – Camden riots * 1972–1977: Pensacola, FL –

Escambia High School riots Escambia High School is a high school located in Escambia County, Florida, United States. History Escambia High School opened for the 1958–59 school year, and its first graduating class in 1959 was composed of 207 students. A large ...

* 1972: Coast of North Vietnam –

USS Kitty Hawk Riot The USS ''Kitty Hawk'' riot was a racial conflict between white and black sailors aboard the United States Navy aircraft carrier on the night of 12–13 October 1972, while positioned at Yankee Station off the coast of North Vietnam during the ...

(October 12–13) * 1975: Ontario, CA – Chaffey High School race riot enhanced by local sniper

1978 to today

* 1978: Houston, TX – Moody Park Riot (on the first anniversary of Joe Campos Torres' death). * 1979: Worcester, MA – Great Brook Valley Projects Riots (Puerto Ricans rioted) * 1980: Miami, FL – Miami riots (riots in reaction to the acquittal of four Miami-Dade Police officers in the death of Arthur McDuffie). * 1980: Chattanooga, TN – Chattanooga riot * 1984: Lawrence, MA – Lawrence race riot (a small scale riot centered at the intersection of Haverhill and railroad streets between working class whites and Hispanics; several buildings were destroyed by Molotov cocktails; August 8, 1984). * 1989: Miami, FL – Overtown riot (two nights of rioting by residents after a black motorcyclist was shot by a Hispanic police officer in the predominantly black community of Overtown. The officer was later convicted of manslaughter). * 1990: Miami, FL – Wynwood riot (Puerto Ricans rioted after a jury acquitted six officers accused of beating a Puerto Rican drug dealer to death) * 1991: Brooklyn, New York, NY – Crown Heights riot (black anti-Jewish mob killed 2, injured 190). * 1992: Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles riots (riots in reaction to the acquittal of all four LAPD officers involved in the videotaped beating of Rodney King, in addition to the Korean involved in the murder of Latasha Harlins; riots broke out mainly involving black and Latino youths in the black neighborhoods of South Central LA and in the neighborhood of Koreatown before spreading to the rest of the city) * 1996: St. Petersburg, FL – St. Petersburg riots (2-day riots that broke out after 18-year-old Tyron Lewis was fatally shot by Officer Jim Knight, who stopped Lewis for speeding and claimed to have accidentally fire his weapon). * 2001: Cincinnati, OH –

Cincinnati riots There has been a long history of rioting in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, since the city was founded in 1788. Some riots were fueled by racial tension, while others by issues such as employment conditions and political justice. 1792 The fir ...

(riots in a reaction to the fatal shooting of an unarmed young black male, Timothy Thomas by Cincinnati police officer Steven Roach). * 2003: Benton Harbor, MI – Benton Harbor riots * 2005: Toledo, OH – 2005 Toledo riot (a race riot that broke out after a planned Neo-Nazi protest march through a black neighborhood). * 2006: Fontana, CA – Fontana High School riot (riot involving about 500 Latino and black students) * 2006: California – Prison race riots (a series of riots across California set off by a war between Latino and black prison gangs) * 2008: Los Angeles, CA – Locke High School riotLocke High School locked down after huge brawl
Los Angeles Times * 2009: Oakland, CA – 2009 Oakland riots (peaceful protests turned into rioting after the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man, by a BART transit policeman). * 2014–2015: Ferguson, MO – The Ferguson unrest (a series of riots that broke out over the shooting of Michael Brown). ** 2014 August: riots for two weeks after the initial shooting of Brown. ** 2014 November – December: riots for one week after the police officer who shot Brown was not indicted. ** 2015 August: riots for two days during the anniversary of Brown's shooting. * 2015: Baltimore, MD – 2015 Baltimore riots (protests-turned-riots following the

death of Freddie Gray On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., a 25-year-old African American, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department over his legal possession of a knife. While being transported in a police van, Gray sustained injuries and was taken to ...

, an incident in which a suspect died in police custody) * 2016: Salt Lake City, UT – Riots sparked by the shooting of Abdullahi Omar Mohamed. * 2020: Nationwide – 2020 riots (protests-turned-riots that broke out across the US following the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...

Asia

Europe

Oceania

References

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Ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established fo ...