This article was written by students in a journalism class at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who examined the Omaha World-Herald’s past coverage of race-related news events.
After a Greek fatally shot a popular police officer in Omaha in 1909, the Evening World-Herald – a precursor to the Omaha World-Herald – published a front-page story reflecting the community’s ethnic hostilities not Greek. The headline for February 22 was: “What the Crowd Looked Like: Vivid Description of Greek Hunters in Action.”
The article described the actions of a mob composed primarily of young men, a diverse group that included black men and “outsiders” from unnamed locations. The text read in part: “A young colored man knocked on a sidewalk and shouted, ‘What will we do with them when they come out?’ “We’ll beat them,” came the cheerful response from the other side of the line. »
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There was no trace of condemnation of the mob’s action in the newspaper or even criticism from officials or anyone else in the report.
No such criticism appeared in the main story about the anti-Greek riots either. This article noted that South Omaha was quiet after a day of looting and destruction, but clearly expressed the feelings of the community at large: “South Omaha wants the Greeks gone, and no one wants hide this fact…. They are considered undesirable citizens because they live on a model similar to that of the Chinese and send their savings out of the country.”
Noting “alcoholism, gambling and immorality” in the Greek Quarter, the article had nothing positive to say about the new arrivals, who were part of a wave of immigrants flocking to the United States shortly after the turn of the century. An unnamed former city official was quoted as saying: “The problem is that the city has no use for the Greeks and wants them to understand that… Our people do not want anyone to be killed or no property be destroyed, but he wants the Greeks destroyed. to go out.”
There weren’t many Greeks in Omaha at the time, according to Jennifer Garza, a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who has studied anti-Greek riots. As the World-Herald stories almost seemed to celebrate, many members of the non-Greek community felt uncomfortable or hostile toward them.
“They were often the target of Klan activities. There was a lot of impact and violence everywhere,” said Garza, who is of Greek descent.
On February 20, 1909, Ed Lowery, an Omaha police officer, was shot and killed after attempting to arrest a Greek man for vagrancy. This sparked riots in Omaha that targeted the Greek community.
The World-Herald identified the shooter as John Masuredes, noting that he was in police custody and had narrowly escaped being lynched by a mob. Although he has not yet been tried, the newspaper did not call him a “suspected” killer, but simply a “murderer.” The newspaper reported that Lowery was described as the oldest and most well-liked officer on the South Omaha police force.
Masuredes, whose name was also spelled Masourides, later claimed he acted in self-defense, firing his pistol only after the police officer shot him, according to an account of the action by John G. Bitzes, who wrote about the events in his 1964 master’s thesis, “The Anti-Greek Riot of 1909: South Omaha.” The man was later tried, convicted and sentenced to hang, but escaped death when the Nebraska Supreme Court ordered a new trial. He was later convicted of second-degree murder and served five and a half years before being deported.
But long before the trials — shortly after the shooting — mobs took to the streets of South Omaha, attacking businesses and residences. The newspaper’s language reflected the hostilities. Garza pointed to a World-Herald article from February 20, 1909, with the headline “Ed Lowery, South Omaha Policeman, Shot and Killed by Greek.” Garza pointed out the racist connotation of the article.
“Headlines like ‘Black Man Kills White Police Officer’ sort of emphasize the labeling of the perpetrator’s race and insinuate that all black men are criminals,” Garza said. “It’s the same kind of thing here. This suggests that all Greeks are responsible.”
Garza said the World-Herald repeatedly published articles that fueled the fire of hatred toward Greeks.
The coverage included a report on a “Call for a Mass Meeting” resolution, detailed by Bitzes, in which local non-Greeks deplored “a condition of proscription…among the Greeks of this city.” The resolution said: “The so-called Greek neighborhoods are infested by a vile gang of dirty Greeks who have attacked our women, insulted pedestrians in the street, openly maintained casinos and other forms of wickedness. »
As reported by the competing daily Daily News, the “resolution” was signed by some 500 people.
The riots that accompanied the affair drove some 1,200 Greeks from Omaha overnight, according to Bitzes.
Garza said tensions were already high between Omaha natives and Greek immigrants because they competed for jobs. The Greek community was growing and many were willing to take low-paid jobs, to the detriment of the natives.
“There’s this competition and resentment that they’re stealing our jobs and holding us back. A lot of it resembles the anti-Mexican sentiment we have today,” Garza said.
Bitzes wrote that many Omaha natives felt threatened by the Greek presence. He highlighted an Omaha native who thought Greeks were interfering with wages and called them “clannish, immoral and un-American.”
Garza said the riots and their aftermath took a heavy toll on Omaha’s Greek community.
“Greeks were afraid to be Greek in public,” she said. “There was a lot of pressure to assimilate, change your name and become more American.”
Garza explained that in 1909 there were 2,000 to 3,000 Greeks in the Omaha area and the following year there were fewer than 1,000 because many of them fled because of the violence of the riots that destroyed their homes and their communities. Many buildings were burned.
Following coverage of the riots, the next article was titled “Greek Refugees Announce Return to South Omaha Wednesday,” February 23, 1909.
The article had four main points: many Greeks would return to South Omaha the next day, militias were held at the ready at Omaha armories as a precaution against possible violence, lawyers for the Greeks sue speakers at Sunday’s Mass and Lowery’s funeral; and the Greeks held a mass meeting, deplored the riots, and expressed regret for the murder of Officer Lowery.
“It was very difficult for them to rebuild their community and some say they never really recovered from the anti-Greek riots. » said Garza.
However, the riots did not discourage the Greek community from returning to Nebraska over time. Since 1909, Omaha’s Greek population has increased. Today, St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church still stands at 60th and Park Avenue. The church had served as a gathering place and refuge for the Greek community during anti-Greek riots, according to Garza.
