Primary Document Analysis Paper #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Primary Document Analysis Paper #2 - Essay Example Best symbolizing this was the Red Summer riots of Chicago – often referring to ‘the Awakening of Black America.’ This event was to change the face of American socialization, bringing to the fore, the contentious issue of racism and racial discrimination. This paper will analyze the primary documents on the race riots that occurred in the summer & fall of 1919 and factors led to the Red Summer. It will also address issues of race, politics, ideology, socioeconomics, and foreign affairs present in the urban violence that occurred and the role that the American media played in the Red Summer Riots. The Red Summer Riots portrayed a ‘boiling point’ in the nation’s long history of racial strife, through violent demonstrating against the African Americans’ long discrimination and oppression. In the summer and fall seasons of 1919, Chicago amongst a host of other populous cities became battlegrounds that witnessed continuous rioting. Not only was this mayhem experienced in the urban-city setting, but more so, in the rural areas of the South specifically those in the former confederacy, such as Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas and Georgia amongst others. As a result, millions of American lives were disrupted with hundreds (if not thousands) of people dying most of whom were African Americans. In the aftermath of the riots, thousands of individuals were injured, with many more being forced to flee from their neighborhoods and homes. In the overall context, not only was the social fabric affected in terms of civil unrest, but also in the form of economic depreci ation. Various businesses did loss millions of American dollars to looting and general destruction of their premises (Gardiner, 1919). Different aspects present in the society during the Red Summer Riots such as the media (print and television) played a vital role in fueling the prevailing social contexts for