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Examples of Ethnic Cleansing in the United States
Seven examples of ethnic cleansing of African Americans in the United States include the expulsion of 60 African Americans from Erwin in 1918, and the Ocoee Massacre in 1920, which drove 500 African Americans from the city.
Little Africa (Polk County)
- Little Africa was a small all African American town in Polk County, just outside Mena. In 1900, the census reported that 177 African Americans were living in Polk County.
- In 1901, public lynchings of African Americans occurred in the County, and residents were constantly harassed.
- The racial tension and economic issues forced many African American families to move from the county. In 1910, the census reported only 46 African Americans remained in Polk County, by 1920 the number had dropped to nine.
- By 1930, only three African American residents were reported on the census and Little Africa had completely disappeared.
Erwin, Tennessee
- In 1918, in the town of Erwin, Tennessee, the African American men were forced to watch a man's body be burnt in the street.
- The 60 African American residents were rounded up and forced to the train station to leave.
The Ocoee Massacre
- Riots broke out in 1920 in northern Ocoee, a city in Orange County, Florida. African-American-owned buildings and residences were burned to the ground.
- The African American residents who were not victims on the initial riots were driven out of their homes.
- By 1920, Ocoee was home to 1,000 people, have of the population was African American. The riots drove out 500 African American residents.
Marshall County
- In 1908, a local doctor in Marshall County posted notices on all the African American doors telling them to get out.
- The situation escalated when the residents did not leave, and a dozen or so people were tortured. Nearly two-thirds of the African American population fled.
- Today there are only 37 African American residents in Marshall County out of a population of 30,125.
Corbin
- On October 30, 1919, 200 African American men were forcibly removed from the town of Corbin. The expulsion began when two white men, with painted black faces attacked and robbed a white man.
- The African American men were all railroad workers. After the event, many of the other African American residents left Corbin out of fear.
Anna
- In November 8th 1909, 40 or more African American families were driven out of the small town of Anna in Illinois.
- The angry mob started after the lynching of an African American man in a nearby town, accused of rape. Overnight the town became all white. The 2000 census found there is only one family with an African American resident in the town.
Vienna
- In 1954, an attack led to the banishment of the town's African American population. After an elderly white woman was attacked and killed by two African American men the town burnt down the African American community.