The Neighborhood Dance Hall (1919)

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

What once stood as a neighborhood dance hall is now a single-family home at the Harrison and Potter street corner. This dance hall was a well-known spot in the Black community that was engulfed in flames during the Longview Race Riot of 1919. At that time, the dance hall that was located here provided a place of entertainment as well as a place for members of the Black community to come together in safety away from whites. However, during the Longview Race Riot, members of a white mob burned this dance hall down after wrongly assuming it housed a large amount of ammunition that the Black community might use against them.

Images

There is no known photo of the Longview dance hall. This image shows African Americans dancing at a dance hall in New Jersey 1942

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Following acts of violence against people and property in the Black community, white mobs quickly moved towards other targets. It is important to note that this area was a predominately Black community, meaning white rioters knew their destructive outbursts would significantly affect the livelihood of many African Americans residing in Longview. The white mob burned multiple homes and public spaces lining this street, including the dance hall that was located at the corner of Potter and Harrison. The white men involved assumed the dance hall housed a large amount of ammunition, making it a top priority to burn down in an attempt to disarm Black rioters. However, the dance hall was not an arsenal but rather a structure of mortar and wood that represented a place of entertainment and refuge. Like many of the homes and Black-owned businesses in this part of the city, the dance floor was burned and the mob continued onward.

Sources

Durham, Ken. (2020) Longview Race Riot of 1919.” TSHA, 2020.

Evans, Glenn, and Les Hassell. (2020). News-Journal Photo. “Longview's Deadly 1919 Race Riot: Passed down Memories, No Markers.” Longview News Journal.

Glasrud, B.A. (2015). Anti-Black Violence in Twentieth-Century Texas. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

“African American Dance, a Brief History.” African American Registry, 27 Sept. 2020, aaregistry.org/story/african-american-dance-a-brief-history/.