 Beginning with a dispute over free passage on a public road, the massacre was rooted in racial hatred and political motives.A court hearing attracted armed white "rifle clubs," colloquially called the "Red Shirts".Desiring to regain control of state governments and eradicate the civil rights of black Americans, over 100 white men attacked about 30 black servicemen of the National Guard at the armory, killing two as they tried to leave that night.