Historical marker acknowledging riot of 1919 unveiled in Downtown Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – On Friday, Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg and several other community leaders came together to unveil a new historical marker in Downtown Charleston.

The new marker is located at 49 Archdale Street and it acknowledges the Charleston Riot of 1919, which was part of the Red Summer of 1919 where a wave of racist attacks on African American communities took place across the U.S.

“One of the first outbreaks of violence began the night of May 10,” Tecklenburg said, “near this very place. Near the intersection of Archdale and Beaufain Streets.”

Historians say the riot likely started when a sidewalk altercation between white sailors stationed in Charleston and Black residents became physical and spilled into nearby streets and buildings.

“For hours,” Tecklenburg said, “hundreds of white sailors and others moved along King Street and harassed, beat, stabbed and shot African Americans.”

Many African Americans defended themselves, but even with the help of city police, they were still outnumbered.

“Order was restored early May 11,” Tecklenburg said, “only after marines and military police intervened. Three Black residents were killed, and dozens were injured.”

The Charleston Riot was part of a larger wave of racist attacks on African American communities across the country, which came to be known as the Red Summer of 1919.

“Hundreds of African Americans were killed and murdered that summer,” Tecklenburg said.

The idea for the marker was thought up by members of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church after taking a civil rights pilgrimage last year.

“To Atlanta,” Barbara T. Pace from St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church said, “Birmingham, Selma and Montgomery, Alabama where we saw the famous sites including the 16^th Street Baptist Church, the Edmund Pettis Bridge and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.”

Members of the congregation say it was important to get this marker approved by the South Carolina Department of Archives to make people aware of this tragedy that took place in the city.

“With the installation of the marker,” Pace said, “the casual passerby, tourists and resident alike can learn one more piece of American history, and that I think we can all agree, is a good thing.”

The marker was installed on Archdale Street at the location where the Charleston Riot of 1919 first began.