Colfax Riot
This plaque marks what it calls the "Colfax Riot," what is now called the "Colfax Massacre." In the midst of political turmoil in 1873, White Supremacist paramilitaries killed over 100 blacks -- the bloodiest single instance of racial carnage in the Reconstruction era. This sign skips that part, though. It instead celebrates how this massacre drove "carpetbaggers" out of power. The sign is said to have been put up in the 1950's, and reflects their understanding of the massacre at the time.
Text:
"Colfax Riot
On this site occurred the Colfax Riot in which three white men and 150 negroes were slain. This event on April 13, 1873 marked the end of carpetbag misrule in the South."
CC BY-SA 3.0 - Billy Hathorn