Over the past few days, I've seen stories about this everywhere. How thousands of wealthy blacks were murdered by jealous whites. Most of the stories leave out one key part.

The massacre began over Memorial Day weekend after 19-year-old Dick Rowland, a black shoeshiner, was accused of assaulting Sarah Page, the 17-year-old white elevator operator of the nearby Drexel Building. He was taken into custody.

                         Key 

A subsequent gathering of angry local whites outside the courthouse where Rowland was being held, and the spread of rumors he had been lynched, alarmed the local black population, some of whom arrived at the courthouse armed. Shots were fired and 12 people were killed: 10 white and 2 black.[18] As news of these deaths spread throughout the city, mob violence exploded.[2]