Riot in the Rubber City: The Infamous Akron Riot of 1900

Residents of Akron stand before the remnants of the City of Akron’s First City Hall, one of the several buildings burnt down during the Riots of 1900, University of Akron Blogs.

I began my series of blog posts at the tail end of the 20th century, with the WTO protests of 1999, marking the end of the 20th century of protests and ushering in a new era of civil disobedience. Then I contributed a post on the midcentury series of events known as the Cleveland Civil Disorders of 1966 to 1968, specifically the Hough Riots, to which several of my immediate and extended family members lived through. To conclude this series of blog posts, I have chosen a topic seldom covered that occurred at the immediate start of the century.

The Akron Riot of 1900 in Akron, Ohio is, as mentioned, rarely discussed in state and national history. Nevertheless, it provides a tremendous amount of insight on racial tensions of the 1900s in the US and Ohio, and it highlights the extent of violence that protestors, rioters in this instance, are willing to go to achieve their goals. In the month of August 1900, much of America was rejoicing at the news of the retreat and subsequent defeat of the Chinese regime during the Boxer Rebellion, to which the United States had participated in subduing along with the British to secure open trade with the dominant Asian Empire. Celebration in American households, including Akron, occurred, however, the joy from such a victory would soon be vanquished from the Rubber City as a tragedy struck the town. After the abduction and alleged sexual assault of a six-year-old white girl named Christina Maas, and word reached white residents that the potential perpetrator was Louis Peck, an African American, riot mobs formed threatening to lynch Peck. Before the mobs could sweep onto the scene with their vigilante justice, Peck was arrested by the Akron Police.

Not only was Peck arrested for the crime because of being the primary suspect, but also to protect him from the inevitable mob that would form seeking to rid him of his life. The police had to conduct their own investigation to prepare for a fair trial where Peck would be the defendant, whereas the mob had already determined his guilt. As the events unfolded it seemed like Peck would soon become another African American to receive the wrath of the white mob that claimed to be in defense of defending the sanctity and purity of white women. Luckily, the accused was kept under rather covert and effective protection by the police as he was moved secretly from being held in Akron and was moved and held in Cleveland. However, the mob was unaware of this decision to transport Peck and the mob soon unleashed violence on the City Building, police, and firefighters indiscriminately. This riot also saw the first American police car, destroyed, by being thrown into a river. This police wagon was created only one year prior; further reading on the history of police cars, an integral aspect of American protests in the 20th century, can be found in the article titled History of American Police Cars along with a useful historical infographic.

The first police car (wagon) created and used in the United States was stationed in Akron, Ohio, created in 1899 and destroyed during the August Riot of 1900, the Vintage News.

       The governor quickly declared martial law and deployed the national guard. Within 24 hours of the outbreak of the riot, just as the news of the fall of China had reached from halfway across the world to Akron, the news of Akron’s own civil conflict ascended to national attention in the mass media. The New York Times quickly picked up the story, with a use of language in the title that dates the event, telling of the time, written as MOB LAW IN AKRON; Rioters Attack the Jail to Get at a Negro Charged with Assaulting a Child. The article from The New York Times gives us direct insight into the events, showing, at the time, how impactful the riot in Akron was to the entire United States. Making national news is no small feat.

This case is an example of unjustified protest and civil disobedience that is not permitted in the guidelines contained in Gaudium et Spes. Unlike the WTO Protests of 1999, 99 years later, the Akron Riots did not have a nuanced, or gray area, of acceptable protest versus violent protest at different spatial and temporal locations of the event. From all accounts, it is clear that those who protested in Akron in August 1900 resorted immediately to riotous violence, not only directed at Louis Peck, the alleged perpetrator of the kidnapping of Christina Maas, moreover directed at civil servants such as firemen, police, and the physical institutions of the City Hall and police departments.