Local
citizens were afraid that the rumored influx of Negroes would
drastically alter the situation. Later investigation showed that
the size of the migration had been vastly exaggerated.
Tension surrounding the racial and labor conflict in East St. Louis
exploded into a minor riot in May. A Negro had accidentally
wounded a white man during a liquor-store holdup but the story that
was circulated was that an innocent young white girl had been shot
and killed. The white community, especially the striking workers,
became an enraged mob which roamed the streets beating any Negroes
it could find. The mob also burned Negro-owned stores and homes. The
next day the National Guard arrived and, with the help of the police,
searched the Negro community for weapons. In spite of the fact
that the mob had been white, it was the Negroes who were
disarmed and arrested. East St. Louis became filled with rumors
that the Negroes were preparing for revenge.
Late in the evening of July 1, a Ford sedan raced through the
Negro section of East St. Louis shooting at doors and windows as
it passed.
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