race riot

noun

1. a riot resulting from animosity or tensions between racial or ethnic groups.

race riot

noun

1. a riot among members of different races in the same community

Word History and Origins

Origin of race riot¹

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Example Sentences

Her father, the late actor Henry Fonda, witnessed the lynching of a Black man during the 1919 Omaha race riots when he was 14, casting him into becoming a lifelong liberal.

From Los Angeles Times

"When people hear leaders using that language it allows the average Joe Bloggs to act up and that's why we had the race riots of Summer 2024," she added.

From BBC

Historically, Springfield, Ohio, like other U.S. cities, has experienced major racial conflict and segregation tracing back to the city’s early 1900s race riots.

From Salon

The following year would bring the Red Summer of 1919, when fatal race riots and white terrorism would strike dozens of cities and towns across the country, from Washington, D.C., to Bisbee, Ariz.

From Seattle Times

Overnight he was catapulted from what he called a “ghetto” engulfed in race riots to a refined world of American wealth.

From Seattle Times