Beaumont Race Riot of 1943

The 1943 race riots in Beaumont, Texas, were a series of racially targeted violence during the summer months of 1943 in Beaumont, Texas. In 1942, a worsening of socioeconomic conditions nationally aggravated interracial tensions. Racial animosity and friction during the Jim Crow era were not unusual, but wartime conditions made matters worse. Four unrelated events amplified the mounting racial tensions in Beaumont. In the months before the riot, numerous atrocities were exacted upon African Americans in Houston, Texas and the surrounding counties. ^[1][2]

The riot was brought to a halt by sheriff Bill Richardson, who stopped a lynch mob by brandishing a Tommy gun and ordering them to get back to building ships for the war effort. By the end of the violence one black and one white were dead and another 50 injured.^[3]

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