The rioting first broke out in Liverpool on Thursday 5th June. It began in a pub when a Coloured man picked up a glass of beer and threw it at a group of Scandinavians at another table: "The Scandinavians left the premises and in the street were assaulted by the coloured men with sticks, knives, razors and pieces of iron torn from lampposts."
The Blacks then went on a general rampage, assaulting three old men and a policeman. A crowd of about 2,000 Whites gathered, but were dispersed by the police. The Blacks were not grateful for their rescue, however, and showed their resentment of police interference by shooting one policeman in the mouth and slashing another across the face with a razor.
Rioting broke out again on Sunday 8th June. An account of subsequent court proceedings said that a Coloured man had been running along the street waving an iron bar and shouting "Down with the white race." The account continued: "White men appear determined to clear out the blacks, who have been advised to remain indoors. This counsel many of them disregard, and late on Sunday a large body of police had to be requisitioned to prevent serious consequences. Whenever a negro was seen he was chased and, if caught, severely beaten..."
The pattern was repeated late on the night of Monday 9th June. Another account of court proceedings read: "Evidence was given to the effect that the district was in uproar and every coloured man seen was followed by large hostile crowds. In two instances the negroes, on being attacked, pulled out knives and razors and attempted to stab some of the crowd. On was heard to shout, 'Come on, you English dogs, I will do for you.'"
Fresh disturbances in the early hours of Wednesday 11th June were also reported. A correspondent telephoning from Liverpool at one o'clock in the morning said that "the streets were filled with thousands of excited people."
Source: The British Race Riots of 1919
Parliament Square (site of Charles Wooton College)
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