Omaha race riot of 1919

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Omaha Race Riot
Part of the Red Summer
Photograph taken showing the body of Will Brown after being burned by a white lynch mob.
Date	September 28–29, 1919 (2 days)
Location	Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Caused by	Racial discrimination
Methods	Rioting, race riots, protests, looting, attacks, lynching
Resulted in	Order Restoration lynching of Willy Brown, African American suppressed until 1950s Order Restoration in City of Omaha, Mayor Edward Smith survived, not running for reelection Ku Klux Klan became established in Omaha in 1921
Parties
United States government 20th Infantry Regiment Government of Nebraska Nebraska Army National Guard Douglas County Douglas County Police Department City of Omaha Omaha Police Department Support: NAACP Rioters, protesters Support: Ku Klux Klan
Lead figures
Edward Parsons Smith (WIA) William Brown  † Michael Clark Henry W. Dunn John E. Morris Tom Dennison Milton Hoffman Agnes Loebeck
Number
September 28: ~300 policemens September 31: ~2,000 Troops September 28: 5,000–20,000 men and women
Casualties and losses
2 white rioters killed
One black civilian lynched

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 civilians, including the attempted hanging of Mayor Edward Parsons Smith; and a public rampage by thousands of white rioters who set fire to the Douglas County Courthouse in downtown Omaha. It followed more than 20 race riots that occurred in major industrial cities and certain rural areas of the United States during the Red Summer of 1919.