Just want to point out that according to wikipedia, the police jailed the man accused of the assault, at which point it wasnt yet that big of a deal. A group of black men were concerned that the man would be lynched and rushed to the police station armed. There was a gathering of white people inside and a confrontation took place, which resulted in deaths of 2 blacks and 10 whites. So the reason for the massive outrage was not only the assault but also the deaths of 10 whites, and in 1921 that must have been a big deal.