Wiley Shelby, a Black musician, is killed by a white man during a barroom dispute in Argenta, the gritty town across the river from Little Rock, Arkansas, on September 11, 1906. The next day, police prevent Black mourners from entering the funeral home while the body is being investigated, and in the ensuing confusion, a Black funeral home owner is shot and killed.

Tensions boil in Argenta for weeks.

By October 6, Blacks and whites are exchanging gunfire in the streets. For three nights, white mobs attack Black people and burn Black neighborhoods. White mobs drag, burn and lynch Black restaurateur Homer G. Blackman in the center of town.

Lawlessness rules until authorities impose martial law.

Economic and social progress continues in Argenta. Today it is a popular local arts district.