race riot

noun

Definition of race riot

: a riot caused by racial dissensions or hatreds

Examples of race riot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web No race riot nor a lynching ever materialized that day. — Mike Christen, USA TODAY, "How a 1946 dispute over a broken radio in Tennessee helped spark the civil rights movement," 28 Feb. 2021 In 1919, the neighborhood exploded in a weeklong race riot that left 38 people dead. — Mick Dumke, ProPublica, "“Power Companies Get Exactly What They Want”: How Texas Repeatedly Failed to Protect Its Power Grid Against Extreme Weather," 28 Feb. 2021 Three days before the Robinsons left California, a race riot in Columbia, Tennessee, resulted in hundreds of police officers arresting dozens of Black men and destroying much of the Black business district. — Chris Lamb, USA TODAY, "The first trip to spring training: A Jackie Robinson story you may not know from 75 years ago," 17 Feb. 2021 For Cassimere, 78, the 1900 race riot always felt fresh. — Katy Reckdahl, NOLA.com, "In Central City, new marker notes 1900 New Orleans 'mass lynching'," 19 Dec. 2020 New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell apologized Saturday to the victims of the 120-year-old race riot known as the Robert Charles Massacre. — Katy Reckdahl, NOLA.com, "LaToya Cantrell apologies for 120-year-old Robert Charles Massacre," 19 Dec. 2020 Another details a race riot in 1867, when members of two factions, the Colored League and the Conservatives, clashed after an Independence Day parade. — Beth Decarbo, WSJ, "Families Flock to the Nashville Suburbs for Good Schools, Low Taxes and Some Southern Charm," 17 Dec. 2020 Dinkins was doomed to a single term by a soaring murder rate, stubborn unemployment and his mishandling of a race riot in Brooklyn. — CBS News, "David Dinkins, NYC's first Black mayor, has died at 93," 24 Nov. 2020 Most widely known as the Tulsa massacre, the race riot bled from an isolated scuffle outside of Tulsa city jail and into the majority Black neighborhood of Greenwood. — Zoe Christen Jones, CBS News, "LeBron James to produce documentary on 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre," 26 Oct. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'race riot.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.