Riots a time-honored tradition in America

Rioting over grand jury or jury verdicts isn’t new in America.

In 1884 in Cincinnati more than 50 people died during riots because a jury found white German William Berner and African-American/white Joe Palmer GUILTY, but of manslaughter and not murder of William Kirk.

The outrage had nothing to do with race, but of political corruption. The riots toppled political bosses John McClean and Tom Campbell.

In 1921 in Tulsa when black Richard Rawlings was accused of “impudence and impertinence” to a white girl in an elevator, whites and blacks rioted against each other, killing 300 and injurying hundreds of both races and causing $5 million in property damage, which probably is equivalent to $50 million today.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s whites routinely lynched blacks they accused of crimes and destroyed property in black neighborhoods, usually without legal consequences.

After the 14^th Amendment was passed in 1869, riots erupts over voting rights, with whites usually the instigators.

In 1898 in Wilmington, North Carolina more than 30 blacks were killed and the black newspaper’s building burned down over voting rights.

In 1875 fifty black Republicans were killed in Clinton, Mississippi over voting rights.

In 1876 in South Carolina many blacks were killed over voting rights.

In 1906 hostility over voting rights in Georgia resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people, nearly all of them black, and legislation was enacted that kept blacks from voting.

It’s been been 145 years since the 14^th Amendment guaranteed the same rights to everyone regardless of race, but America still has its Fergusons with regularity.