In the U.S., when white people have engaged in riots, the goal has been the mass murder of black people, not just property damage: NYC (1863), Brownsville (1906), East St. Louis (1917), Multiple Cities (1919), Tulsa (1921), & more.

Thousands were killed by white terrorism

(NB: last night, I was told not to use the term "riot" to describe events in MN. I agreed this term was charged & that I should use "civil unrest" instead. When I typed the tweet above, however, I chose to use "riot." "Civil unrest" sounded like white washing in that case)

(I am not selectively applying terms, for the record. The events in Minneapolis are categorically different than the mass murders I described. Mass protests w/ some accompanying property damage are not in the same category as massacres)

And pause, for a moment, to think of what we all learned in school. We were taught to associate the word "riot" with 1968 or with the city of LA. We were not taught to associate it with Brownsville or Tulsa. We were not taught of Brownsville or Tulsa at all.