(Several weeks ago, The Real Zanetta on Bluesky posted a graphic with a sobering list of incidents of mass violence against Black people throughout American history. I took it as an assignment and picked one to reflect on.)

The Situation

The first thing I didn’t know (but wasn’t surprised by) was that the State of Ohio passed draconian laws against free African American people in 1804 and 1807. These were called—with the typical lack of originality that racists are known for—the “Black Laws.” The main point was that in order to settle in Ohio, African Americans would need to put up a $500 bond of surety to guarantee their ‘good behavior.’ That’s the equivalent of about $15,000 in current US dollars. There were other provisions denying African Americans their civil rights to testify in court against whites, sit on juries, and, in some cases, vote. Effectively, African Americans weren’t welcome in Ohio, and if they did manage to settle there, they definitely weren’t allowed to have any political power, particularly over white people.

Fortunately, though, the $500 bond wasn’t much enforced (you can probably see where this is going… Chekov’s bond).

Let’s step back and paint a picture of Cincinnati during the first couple decades of the 19th century. Geography is destiny, and Cincinnati was always going to be an important place. It was incorporated as a city in 1802 at the confluence of the Ohio and Miami Rivers—a strategic spot for river trade. Picture a small, but growing city emerging from a clutch of smaller river burgs. At the outset, there were 1,000 people; by 1820 there were 10,000. They were strivers—many of them foreign-born—representing commercial interests, trading in agricultural products and merchandise, catering to steam boat travelers, etc. The “American Dream” had just been dreamt for the first time. People were jubilant and industrious.

The photo at the top of this post shows Cincinnati along the Ohio in 1850. It’s the earliest photo I could find. At the time of the 1829 riot, there would have been a ‘shanty town’ where many of the Black residents lived along the river bank.

Some of these dreamers were African Americans, mostly living in the Fourth Ward along the Ohio River. In the 1820s, the City became a major stop along the Underground Railroad, being just over the border from Kentucky. This growing free Black population was perceived by the Cincinnati merchant class as a threat to commerce. Unskilled white workers, who were mostly Irish immigrants, saw African Americans as a threat to their livelihoods. Tensions rose and predictably there was increased political pressure for enforcement of the $500 bond. Further racist laws were passed. Things were escalating going into 1829 and leaders of the African American community were actively having discussions about finding sanctuary in Canada or perhaps farther West.

The Riot

In June, a notice in the daily newspaper set a 30 day deadline for posting the $500 bond. Any Black citizens who failed to do so was to be expelled. (Bear in mind that quite a few of the 2,250 or so Black residents were native Cincinnatans! Not that that should matter…) On August 15th—when it was clear this policy had failed to make anyone “self-deport”—a mob of 300 white people marched into the Fourth Ward, set fire to homes and businesses, and beat the hell out of many innocent people. The terror continued day after day for NINE WHOLE DAYS until the official City authorities put an end to it on August 24th. Both white rioters and Black residents were arrested.

Within a week, something like half of Cincinnati’s Black population had fled to Ontario, Canada, and other parts of the US. There were further riots in Cincinnati in 1836 and 1841. Fortunately, by that time, the Black community was more firmly established and better able to protect itself. The “Black Laws” were repealed in 1849, though forms of segregation continued into the 20th century.

Speaking for myself, the history of white racism in ostensibly Northern states is a bit of a blindspot. These incidents in Cincinnati are the kind of thing that happened over and over again. I think that our culture has bent over backwards to give these states “a pass.” The institution of enslavement makes it too easy to pretend like there was a binary: “free states” and “slave states.” And if you’re from a free state, pat yourself on your back. If you’re from a “slave state” feel a little guilty or seethe with resentment or both. Wisconsin, where I live, is full of once-upon-a-time “sundown towns.”

By coincidence, I may be traveling to Ohio this June and if I do, I will be sure to look for traces of the riots.

What do I think?

I don’t think we’ve learned very much in 200 years. I’d like to think that we’re well past this kind of crap, but reading the news every day makes it clear that we’re not. I don’t mean to discount the majority of people in this country that I think basically have their heads straight on fundamental human rights, but it’s not enough. Not when very well moneyed interests know how to push these buttons to amass oligarchical power. Not when the structure of the electoral college gives undemocratic power to a single political party. Not when decades of wage stagnation despite increased economic productivity have led to a sense of urgent economic anxiety. If it were enough, we wouldn’t be seeing the federal government building the culture and machinery for mass deportation, including internment camps on remote military bases.

Trump’s crowd is no more than 20-30% of the nation, which is too much to be sure, but we cannot allow them to define us.

So, how is it that I read about a race riot that took place in 1829, or a German election that took place in 1933, and they resonate? This shouldn’t be, but it is. We like to give ourselves credit for progressing as a species, but we’re not really. And to anyone who has read history widely, that’s chilling. I don’t believe that people are willing to comprehend the violence that people have been willing to do to one another. It’s no comfort to read history, that’s for sure.