en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadir_of_American_race_relations
3 corrections found
In 1911, Black racers were barred from participating in the Kentucky Derby because African Americans won more than half of the first twenty-eight races.
This is incorrect: Black jockeys were still riding in the Kentucky Derby after 1911. Jess Conley rode in the 1911 Derby, and Henry King rode in 1921; Jimmy Winkfield was the last Black jockey to win the Derby in 1902, not the last to participate.
Full reasoning
The claim says Black racers were barred from participating in the Kentucky Derby in 1911, but reliable historical sources show Black jockeys continued to appear in the race after that year.
- The Smithsonian reports that "In 1911 Jess Conley came in third in the derby and in 1921, Henry King placed tenth." That directly contradicts the idea that Black racers had already been barred from participating in 1911.
- The Kentucky Historical Society likewise states that Jimmy Winkfield is the last Black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby, not the last to ride in it. So 1902 marks the last Black victory, not an end to Black participation.
A more accurate version would be that Black jockeys were progressively pushed out of elite racing during the Jim Crow era, and that Jimmy Winkfield was the last Black jockey to win the Derby until the present, while Black jockey participation continued at least through 1921.
2 sources
- The Kentucky Derby's Forgotten Jockeys
After his 1903 run in the Kentucky Derby, black Americans practically disappeared from Goodwin's official list of jockeys. In 1911 Jess Conley came in third in the derby and in 1921, Henry King placed tenth.
- African American Jockeys at the Kentucky Derby
James "Jimmy" Winkfield won the 1901 and 1902 Derbies... As of 2024, Winkfield is the last Black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby.
Massacres and attacks on Black people that developed out of strikes and economic competition occurred in Houston, Philadelphia, and East St. Louis in 1917.
This is inaccurate because the Philadelphia race riot referenced here occurred in July 1918, not 1917. The 1917 incidents in this context were Houston and East St. Louis; Philadelphia belongs to a later year.
Full reasoning
The sentence groups Philadelphia with Houston and East St. Louis as places where this violence occurred in 1917. But standard historical references date the major Philadelphia riot in this context to 1918, not 1917.
- The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia states that "In July 1918 ... The event triggered a riot" in Philadelphia after an African American woman moved into a white neighborhood.
- Encyclopedia.com likewise refers specifically to "The Philadelphia Race Riot of 1918".
So while Houston and East St. Louis are correctly associated with 1917, including Philadelphia in that same 1917 list is factually wrong.
2 sources
- World War I - Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia
In July 1918, after an African American woman moved into a house at 2936 Ellsworth Street in Philadelphia, a white neighborhood, angry white residents stoned the house and attacked nearby African Americans. The event triggered a riot that lasted two days.
- Race Riots (U.S.), 1917-1923 | Encyclopedia.com
The Philadelphia Race Riot of 1918 illustrates many of the dominant patterns of the urban conflagrations of 1917 to 1923.
with Mississippi and Louisiana creating new state constitutions in 1890 and 1895 respectively, to disenfranchise African Americans.
The Louisiana date is wrong. Mississippi adopted its disfranchising constitution in 1890, but Louisiana's notorious disfranchising constitution was adopted in 1898, not 1895.
Full reasoning
This sentence incorrectly dates Louisiana's disfranchising constitution to 1895.
Reliable historical sources identify Louisiana's key disfranchising constitution as the Constitution of 1898:
- 64 Parishes describes the Louisiana Constitution of 1898 as the state's "disfranchisement constitution," adopted for the purpose of suppressing Black voting and restoring white rule.
- The Equal Justice Initiative likewise states that on May 12, 1898, Louisiana adopted a new constitution with poll taxes, literacy requirements, property requirements, and other measures designed to exclude African American men from political participation.
So the correct pairing is Mississippi in 1890 and Louisiana in 1898, not 1895.
2 sources
- Louisiana Constitution of 1898 - 64 Parishes
Often referred to as the "disfranchisement constitution," the Constitution of 1898 contained suffrage restrictions ... that severely diminished the Republican Party in Louisiana.
- On May 12, 1898: Louisiana Officially Disenfranchises Black Voters and Jurors
On May 12, 1898, the State of Louisiana adopted a new constitution with numerous restrictive provisions intended to exclude African American men from civic participation.