1919 was a year of racial turmoil in America. The Great Migration from the South to Northern Cities was taking place Also hundreds of thousands of African American soldiers were returning home from World War I where they had fought for freedom and were willing to stand up for it in America. Another factor was a black and white silent film Birth of a Nation was released and glorified the Ku Klux Klan and racial fighting and it was very popular and was even shown at the White House. Two hundred black sharecroppers had been murdered in Arkansas and there were hundreds of lynchings across the country.This account is based on two eyewitness reports by John Harris and Ida B. Wells. They were there and saw what was going on in Chicago and how it got started. It was a terrible year in America and this is just one of the trouble spots. There was violence in many cities and towns and in the country. Hopefully it will never happen again.