Fairground Park riot facts for kids

The Fairground Park Riot was a race riot that happened on June 21, 1949. It started at a public swimming pool that had just allowed people of all races to swim together. The Fairground Park pool was in north St. Louis, near Natural Bridge and Vandeventer Avenues.

History of the Pool

Swimmers enjoying the Fairground Park swimming pool in the 1920s.

The Fairground Pool in St. Louis, Missouri, was one of the biggest pools in the American Midwest. It was about 440 feet long and could hold 10,000 to 12,000 swimmers at one time.

Back then, many parts of the United States had segregation. This meant that Black people and white people were kept separate in public places. Missouri was one of the states that still had these rules. People had protested at Fairground Park, asking for the pools to be open to everyone.

At the time, federal law did not support keeping public places separate. John J. O'Toole, who was in charge of public welfare for St. Louis, decided to open the pool to everyone. He said, "I can't stop anyone from lawfully using a swimming pool. They are taxpayers and citizens, too."

On June 21, 1949, African Americans were allowed to use the city pool for the first time. Before this day, only white people could swim at the Fairground Park pool.

The Day the Riot Started

On the first day the pool was open to everyone, only about 30 to 40 African Americans came. They swam alongside white children without any problems at first. Then, a group of white teenagers gathered around the pool fence. They started yelling threats at the African American swimmers.

The Black children had to be taken to a changing room. Police then escorted them out of the park. Some people who saw what happened said the children were safe. Others said the police escorts did not stop the white teenagers from attacking the Black children.

By 6:45 p.m. that day, the crowd grew to hundreds of people. Only about 20 to 30 of them were African American. The situation quickly got worse when a false rumor spread that a Black man had hurt a white man.

White boys, some carrying baseball bats and even a knife, surrounded the Black boys. One African American child was hit until a police officer stepped in to protect him. By then, thousands of people had gathered. About 150 police officers were at the park. By 10 o'clock that night, things calmed down. However, the crowd did not fully leave until after midnight.

To prevent more trouble, the mayor decided to separate the pools again. But in 1950, a federal court ordered that all St. Louis pools must be open to everyone, no matter their race.

Kids' Stories from the Riot

Robert Gammon was a teenager when the riot happened. He just wanted to cool off at the Fairground Park swimming pool. Sixty years later, he still remembers how scared he was. He remembers the yelling, the thrown bricks, and the fights.

When he heard on the radio that the pool would be open for Black people too, he did not think it would cause so much anger. He had always wanted to swim in that outdoor pool with the wooden diving platform. But he had never felt such fear as he did walking home that night.

When he and other Black kids were escorted to the changing room, he remembers a white woman spitting at him. Once the police escorts left, Gammon and his friends were chased by white people. They ran all the way to St. Louis Avenue before their pursuers gave up. He even remembers one of his friends getting hit in the head by a brick.

After the riot, Gammon felt it would be a long time before he could trust white people again. He said, "I thought all white people hated us." Even today, Gammon cannot understand why the riot happened. He wonders, "Just because I'm black?" He remembers the crowds getting bigger and bigger, and more fights breaking out. Time magazine wrote an article about the riot. It described the scene as, "Negro boys were chased and beaten by white gangs."

Years later, Gammon visited Fairground Park. He leaned against the fence where the original pool used to be. As time has passed, he sees race differently. He no longer believes all white people hate him. However, he still wishes the whole incident had never happened. He feels things are better now, but there is still more progress to be made.

J.C. Tobias also remembers being chased by a group of white teenagers. He and some friends were walking home from the park's baseball field. He said, "When you're a kid, you don't think much about it. As you get older, you realize it didn't make much sense. We were just up there to swim." J.C. Tobias was also a teenager during the riot. Sixty years later, he still clearly remembers the event.

What Happened Next

The Star-Times newspaper also reported on the riot. They even showed a picture of white mothers carrying their young children. White teenagers walked around with weapons like baseball bats and broomsticks. They moved like a swarm towards the African American boys and surrounded them. They saw one African American boy pull out a knife and then began to attack him. They used their clubs, bats, sticks, and fists to hit the young boy. Even though police tried to protect the boy, the white attackers kept hitting him as he lay on the ground.

Why This History Matters

Eddie Silva, in his writing "The Longest Day," feels that the Fairground Park riot "has been erased from the city's collective memory." This part of history is often forgotten or not talked about. This is because it makes people think about the city's past racial problems.

Silva believes that ignoring the riot does not change the fact that it happened. He thinks it needs to get the attention it deserves because its effects can still be seen today. Some people choose to forget or not believe that on the night of the riot, about 4,000 to 5,000 white people roamed Fairground Park. They attacked any and every African American person they saw.

What Happened After

The riot lasted for twelve hours. Nearly four hundred police officers were needed to bring order back to the park. In total, more than a dozen people were hurt. At least eight people were arrested because of the riot. No one died in the fighting. However, ten Black people and two white people were taken to the hospital for their injuries.

Official reports say that out of the seven people arrested that day, three were white and four were Black. In the end, three Black people and one white person were charged with starting the riot.

After the riot, fewer and fewer people came to the Fairground Park Pool. It could no longer make enough money and eventually closed down.