In Search of Robert Charles: Race and Violence in Jim Crow New Orleans

K. Stephen Prince will discuss popular responses to the New Orleans Race Riot of July 1900. At the heart of the riot was a black man named Robert Charles, whose shooting of a New Orleans police officer prompted the white residents of the city to launch an all-out attack on African Americans. Because so little was known about Robert Charles prior to July 1900, he proved an ideal vessel for larger conversations about race, citizenship, power, and violence. Prince's paper will explore popular responses to Robert Charles from a variety of perspectives: black, white, northern, southern, and international.