1919 British race riots

Historical event A number of race riots occurred in Britain between January and August 1919, with sporadic recurrences in 1920 and 1921. They marked a significant moment when the presence of minority ethnic people living in the country, including long-time residents and war veterans, came to public attention. In the ports of South Shields,https://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/roots/2003/10/arabontyne.shtml BBC - Tyne Roots - Black History Month - The story behind Britain's first race riot BBC 11 September 2023 Glasgow, London's East End, Salford, Hull, Liverpool, Cardiff, Barry and Newport there were race riots targeting ethnic minority populations. Over the course of the riots there were five fatalities, four of whom were black men, as well as widespread vandalism of property.1919 - The 'Race Riots' https://mixedmuseum.org.uk/main-exhibition/1919-the-race-riots/ 2026-05-01 The Mixed Museum en There were multiple causes for the riots. The demobilization of troops after World War I had led to intense post-war job competition. The perception that foreigners were taking away jobs became a trigger for the rioting and attacks on Black, Arab and Chinese ethnic communities, especially in British port cities.National Archives https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1919-race-riots/ 1919 race riots: How significant a factor was race in the riots of 1919? July 2, 2023 Another cause identified by the media at the time was white male indignation at interracial relationships between white women and men of colour post-war.Hall Lesley Sex, Gender and Social Change in Britain Since 1880 Palgrave Macmillan 2013 83 In the aftermath of the riots, Sir Ralph Williams wrote to The Times to blame interracial relationships for the riots. The Eugenics Education Society also wrote to the Colonial Office to claim that interracial relationships and mixed-race children required scientific evaluation.Archives The National The National Archives - Homepage https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1919-race-riots/1919-race-riots-source-7/ 2026-05-01 The National Archives en-GB Later pseudoscientific reports focused on mixed-race children in port cities, especially Liverpool, were published in 1927 and 1930 by Rachel Fleming and Muriel Fletcher respectively.Fleming R. M. 1927 Anthropological studies of children https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2984679/ The Eugenics Review 18 4 294–301 2984679 212598431930 - The Fletcher Report https://mixedmuseum.org.uk/main-exhibition/1930-the-fletcher-report/ 2026-05-01 The Mixed Museum en Events Glasgow (January 1919) In January, violence broke out in Glasgow over a perception that black sailors were "being given the preference in signing on for a ship about to sail", and the belief that they would accept lower wages to do so.Staveley-Wadham Rose 1919 Race Riots The British Newspaper Archive Blog https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2022/10/26/the-1919-race-riots-in-britain/ 4 March 2025 26 October 2022 Thirty African sailors were chased through the streets of Glasgow by a crowd of hundreds,Williams Craig Remembering the 'Broomielaw Race Riot' of 1919 - one of Glasgow's ugliest days https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/one-of-glasgows-ugliest-days-15683417 3 March 2025 Glasgow Live 22 January 2019 en with the Dundee Evening Telegraph reporting that one black sailor had shot and injured a white seaman, one of three injuries sustained during the riot. South Shields (January–February 1919) Disturbances in South Shields in late January and early February 1919 followed tensions around dockside hiring and confrontations near boarding houses in Holborn; assaults on Arab and other minority seamen were reported and arrests followed.Griffin Patrick The 1919 'race riots'—within and beyond exceptional moments in South Shields and Glasgow Political Geography 2021 89 102434 10.1016/j.polgeo.2021.102434 https://researchportal.northumbria.ac.uk/files/44004467/1919_Paper_April_2021.pdf 15 October 2025 Scholarship situates the Shields events within a wider pattern across British ports, with competition for berths, rumours about wage rates, and anxieties over social mixing recurring as triggers.Griffin Patrick The 1919 'race riots'—within and beyond exceptional moments in South Shields and Glasgow Political Geography 2021 89 102434 10.1016/j.polgeo.2021.102434 https://researchportal.northumbria.ac.uk/files/44004467/1919_Paper_April_2021.pdf 15 October 2025 Hull (May 1919) In Hull, violence in May 1919 centred on the mercantile shipping office and nearby streets, involving fighting between white and Black seamen, followed by court proceedings; historians note close resemblance in causes and locations to disturbances in Glasgow and South Shields.Jenkinson Jacqueline The black community of Salford and Hull 1919–21 Immigrants & Minorities 1988 7 3 245–261 10.1080/02619288.1988.9974685 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02619288.1988.9974685 15 October 2025 subscription Jenkinson Jacqueline Black 1919: Riots, Racism and Resistance in Imperial Britain Liverpool University Press 2009 978-1-84631-200-7 https://liverpool.universitypressscholarship.com/display/10.5949/UPO9781846315138/upso-9781846312007 15 October 2025 Liverpool (June 1919) During a week of rioting in Liverpool in June, 120 black workers were sacked in Liverpool after whites refused to work with them. June 10, 1919 Letter from the Assistant Head Constable of Liverpool, L. Everett, to the Home Office https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1919-race-riots/1919-race-riots-source-3/ 2026-09-08 The National Archives en-GB That same month, a mob of 200 or 300 white people chased black former sailor Charles Wotten to Liverpool's Queen's Dock and killed him there.Graham Patrick Sailor murdered in race riots finally gets memorial plaque https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/sailor-murdered-race-riots-over-27074144 3 March 2025 Liverpool Echo 8 June 2023 en The 40 police officers responding to the event were initially overpowered by the crowd, with one being shot in the mouth. Cardiff (June 1919) thumb|Illustration of the Cardiff riots from the Illustrated Police News, 19 June 1919|alt=Contemporary print of police and rioters in a street. In the forground one is shown holding a knife, having just stabbed another man. A police officer grapples with him while another tends to the victim. The riots continue in the background. A day after Wotten's death in Liverpool, the Sunday Pictorial reported on "fierce racial riots" in Newport, Wales, which spread to Cardiff and Barry over the following week. At least three men died during the Wales riots.https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/race-riots-cardiff-1919-butetown-16428953 The notorious Race Riots of 1919 in Cardiff that shamed Wales Wales Online Mohammed Aamir 16 June 2019 13 June 2020 London (June 1919) Later the same month, a shop in Cable Street, east London was attacked by a crowd of 3,000 people. The shop, which was "kept by an Arab", had become targeted after stories had been circulating that "some white girls had been seen to enter the house". The occupants were escorted away from the property by police. Salford (1919–1921) Salford experienced clashes linked to dockside employment and housing pressure during 1919, with further incidents through 1920–21; minority lodging houses and businesses were frequent targets and prosecutions followed.Jenkinson Jacqueline The black community of Salford and Hull 1919–21 Immigrants & Minorities 1988 7 3 245–261 10.1080/02619288.1988.9974685 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02619288.1988.9974685 15 October 2025 subscription Comparative work emphasises that while Salford shared triggers with other ports, crowd dynamics and the sequence of disorder differed locally.Jenkinson Jacqueline The black community of Salford and Hull 1919–21 Immigrants & Minorities 1988 7 3 245–261 10.1080/02619288.1988.9974685 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02619288.1988.9974685 15 October 2025 subscription Analysis A modern study of the 1919 riots by Jacqueline Jenkinson showed that police arrested nearly twice as many blacks (155) as whites (89). While most of the whites were convicted, nearly half of Black arrestees were acquitted. Jenkinson suggests that the courts acknowledged their innocence and were recognising and attempting to correct for police bias.Jenkinson Jacqueline Black 1919: Riots, Racism and Resistance in Imperial Britain 2009 10.2307/j.ctt5vjd9g.10 Liverpool University Press References National Archives https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1919-race-riots/ 1919 race riots: How significant a factor was race in the riots of 1919? July 2, 2023 Category:Race riots in the United Kingdom Category:1919 in the United Kingdom Race Category:1910s in Liverpool Category:1919 in London Category:South Shields Category:1910s in Glasgow Category:20th century in Kingston upon Hull Category:Racism in the United Kingdom