Perry race riot


The Perry race riot was a racially-motivated conflict in Perry, Florida, on December 14 and 15, 1922. Whites burned African-American Charles Wright at the stake in a lynching and attacked the black community of Perry after the murder of Ruby Hendry, a white schoolteacher.
Wright, a 21-year-old escaped convict, and Albert Young, his alleged accomplice, were arrested and jailed for Hendry's murder. A mob several thousand strong, made up of local and out-of-state whites, seized the accused from the sheriff, and extracted a "confession" from Wright by torturing him. Wright claimed to have acted alone. He was subsequently burned at the stake and the crowd collected souvenirs. Following this, two more black men were shot and hanged. Whites burned the town's black school, Masonic lodge, church, amusement hall, and several families' homes.