Robert Charles Riots

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The Robert Charles Riots of 1900 were sparked after African American laborer Robert Charles shot a police officer, which led to a manhunt. Twenty-eight people were killed in the conflict, including Robert Charles himself. Many more people were killed and wounded by riots stemming from the manhunt. The manhunt for Robert Charles began after an altercation involving himself and his roommate with New Orleans police on Monday July 23rd and ended when Robert Charles was killed on Friday, July 27, 1900.

Contents

[edit] Civil Unrest

Louisiana was a racially diverse state at the turn of the century. Its population was listed at 730,000 'white' and 650,000 'negro' by the Twelfth Census of the United States.[1] Louisiana law attempted to keep these two populations separate at the end of the 19th century. Plessy vs. Ferguson was originally a Louisiana case before going to the Supreme Court, and the state of Louisiana had passed eight 'Jim Crow' laws by 1900.[2] The effect of segregation laws was clear in the city of New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century: “Signs of increasing animosity between the races were to be seen almost daily in New Orleans during June and July 1900. Both the police and press received an unprecedented number of complaints.”[3]

Racial tensions were also increased by the racist undertones of New Orleans newspapers, which were "becoming more stridently racist in their editorial columns and treatment of the news."[3] The confrontational journalistic practices of Henry J. Hearsay and the States newspaper also caused racial rifts in New Orleans. Hearsay, a former Major in the Confederate Army, stated in one article that “if [negroes] listen to the screeds of agitators in the North...the result will be a race war, and race war means extermination...Then the negro problem of Louisiana at least will be solved–and that by extermination.”[4] This tension in New Orleans set the tone for the conflict that was to come.

[edit] Original Altercation and Pursuit

At approximately 11 p.m. on July 23, 1900, three police officers, Sergeant Jules C. Aucion, August T. Mora, and Joseph D. Cantrelle, investigated “two suspicious looking negroes” sitting on a porch on the 2800 block of Dryades street, in a predominately white neighborhood. They arrived to find Charles and his roommate Leonard Pierce, who was 19 at the time, at the scene. The policemen questioned the two men, demanding to know what they “were doing and how long they had been there,” to which one of the two men replied that they were “waiting for a friend.” Robert Charles then got up, which the police believed to be an aggressive move. Patrolman Mora grabbed him and the two struggled. Mora hit Charles with his billet, which did not stop Charles. Both Mora and Charles pulled weapons and exchanged shots with each other. Reports vary on who drew their gun first, but it is known that both men received non-lethal gunshot wounds. Mora was shot in the thigh; Charles fled from the scene leaving a trail of blood.[5] Pierce, also armed, was left at the gunpoint of a police officer when Charles ran.

Charles returned to his residence early the next morning while the police attempted to track him down. Discovering where the man lived by interrogating Pierce, Captain Day and a patrol wagon approached Robert Charles' residence on the 2000 block of Fourth Street at approximately 3 a.m. on the morning of July 24, 1900. When the police attempted to apprehend Charles, he fired upon them, hitting the Captain with a rifle shot to the heart. Charles shouted, “I will give you all some,” and shot another policeman in the head. The remaining policemen took refuge in a nearby room while Charles escaped from the building.[6]

[edit] Manhunt and Rioting

July 24th was the first day that showed signs of rioting. A crowd gathered on Fourth Street where the policemen were killed. There were shouts for lynching Robert Charles, but the crowds dispersed when they were falsely told that Charles had been located and jailed.[7] On the 25th of July, Acting Mayor Mehle (Mayor Paul Capdevielle was out of town) announced a $250 reward for the arrest of Robert Charles, but he also issued a proclamation urging peace. New Orleans papers, particularly the Times-Democrat, helped exacerbate the situation, blaming the black community for Robert Charles' crimes and calling for action.[8]

In the following days, several race riots occurred as mobs roved the streets armed with guns. The night of the 25th caused the death of three blacks and the hospitalization of six more, plus five whites, and the injury of more than 50 people.[9] Robert Charles had taken refuge at 1208 Saratoga Street, where he remained safe from the police until Friday, July 27th. The house was quickly surrounded by police after they were informed of Robert Charles' location. Throughout the day, men from outside the house fired upon Charles, who sporadically fired back at them. By the end of the day, Charles had shot a total of 27 white people in the course of the week, seven of them lethally; four of the victims were policemen.[10] At this point, the police decided to burn down the building in which Charles was holed up. When attempting to escape the smoke-filled building, Charles was shot by Charles A. Noiret, a medical student and member of the special police (a police group of volunteer citizens). The policemen present continued to shoot Robert Charles' corpse, then dragged him outside where a mob of bystanders beat Charles' body.[10]

[edit] Aftermath

Mobs in New Orleans still roved the streets after the killing of Charles. Police had difficulty getting the body to the morgue due to angry mobs of people attempting to damage the corpse. Several innocent people were killed and the Thomy Lafon schoolhouse, “the best Negro schoolhouse in Louisiana,” was burned down.[11] The informant who told police the whereabouts of Robert Charles,Fred Clark, was shot and killed several days later by an admirer of Robert Charles, Lewis Forstall, in revenge for giving away Charles' location.[12]

The events in New Orleans also had an effect outside of the state. Lillian Jewett of Boston started the Anti-Lynching League in reaction to Robert Charles' death. Some members of the group wanted retribution for the killing of Robert Charles and called for revenge on his killers. In turn, a group of whites formed The Green Turtles, who threatened Lillian Jewett's life, despite the fact that she had never been to Louisiana or known Robert Charles.[13]

[edit] Citations

  1. ^ Twelfth Census of the United States, taken in the Year 1900. Volume I. Part I p. 725
  2. ^ http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/lessonplans/hs_es_jim_crow_laws.htm[1]
  3. ^ a b Hair - Carnival of Fury p. 140-141
  4. ^ Hair - Carnival of Fury p. 91
  5. ^ Hair - Carnival of Fury p. 119-121
  6. ^ Hair - Carnival of Fury p. 125-126
  7. ^ Hair - Carnival of Fury p. 144-145
  8. ^ Hair - Carnival of Fury p. 148-149
  9. ^ Hair - Carnival of Fury p. 153
  10. ^ a b Hair - Carnival of Fury p. 170-171
  11. ^ Hair - Carnival of Fury p. 175-177
  12. ^ Hair - Carnival of Fury p. 185
  13. ^ Hair - Carnival of Fury p. 193-194

[edit] References

Merriam, William R. (1900), Twelfth Census of the United States, pp. 725 

Hair, William Ivy (1976). Carnival of Fury: Robert Charles and the New Orleans Race Riot of 1900. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-0178-8. 

"The History of Jim Crow". http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/lessonplans/hs_es_jim_crow_laws.htm. Retrieved on 3/02/2007. 

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