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Remembering The Centennial Of The Red Summer of 1919

On Second Thought
On Second Thought
Episode • Jul 3, 2019 • 17m
One hundred years ago, Americans were adjusting to life after a destabilizing world war. The Spanish influenza decimated communities, fears of Bolshevik-style communism ran rampant and hundreds of thousands of returning veterans were competing for jobs and housing ⁠— including African Americans confident that fighting abroad earned them the right to freedom at home. Throughout the summer of 1919, the war between nations gave way to a war between races. Mobs targeted and lynched black Americans.