Monthly Archives: August 2018

On this day in American history, August 31, 1966 — Alabama Forbids Local School Districts From Desegregating

Posted on August 31, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

A decade after the United States Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, many school districts throughout the South still maintained segregated public schools. In 1964, the United States Congress passed the … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 30, 1956 — Riots Prevent School Desegregation in Mansfield, Texas

Posted on August 30, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In 1956, Mansfield, Texas, was a small farming town of 1500 people. Its schools were strictly segregated and facilities for black students were run-down and under-funded. Before the start of the 1956-1957 school year, in compliance with a federal desegregation … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 28, 1955 — Emmett Till, 14-year-old Chicago Youth, Abducted and Murdered in Mississippi Delta

Posted on August 28, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 20, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till boarded a train in Chicago, Illinois, headed for Money, Mississippi, to spend two weeks with his great-uncle and cousins. A few days into his visit, Till and a group of friends went into … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 26, 1874 — Mob of 400 Lynches Sixteen Black Men Kidnapped from Tennessee Jail

Posted on August 26, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 26, 1874, sixteen African American men were held in the Gibson County Jail in Trenton, Tennessee, transferred from Picketsville, a neighboring town where they’d been arrested and accused of shooting at two white men. Around 2:00 a.m. that … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 25, 1956 — Montgomery, Alabama, Home of Bus Boycott Supporter Bombed

Posted on August 25, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On the night of April 25, 1956, several sticks of dynamite were thrown into the yard of Pastor Robert Graetz’s Montgomery, Alabama, home where they exploded, breaking the home’s front windows and damaging the front door. A young white minister … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 24, 1923 — Black Man Lynched in Jacksonville, Florida

Posted on August 24, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 24, 1923, a 34-year-old black farmhand Ben Hart was killed based on suspicion that he was a “Peeping Tom” who had that morning peered into a young white girl’s bedroom window near Jacksonville, Florida. According to witnesses, approximately … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 23, 1989 — Black Teen Murdered by White Mob in Brooklyn, New York

Posted on August 23, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 23, 1989, 16-year-old Yusef Hawkins and three friends went to the predominately white Bensonhurt section of Brooklyn, New York, to inquire about a used Pontiac for sale. On their way through the neighborhood, the three black boys encountered … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 22, 1905 — Whites Riot After Black Man Enters Pittsburgh Restaurant

Posted on August 22, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

According to newspaper reports, an African-American man named Charles Julius Miller, and an unnamed African-American woman entered Café Neapolitan, a Pittsburgh restaurant, on August, 22, 1905. The couple was immediately refused service and ordered to leave. When Miller refused to … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 21, 1831 — Nat Turner Leads Enslaved Black People in Virginia Rebellion

Posted on August 21, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Nat Turner was an enslaved black man who lived in Southampton, Virginia. By many accounts, Turner was a very religious man who ministered to fellow enslaved blacks as well as whites. Turner studied the Bible fervently and often claimed to … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 20, 1619 — First Enslaved Africans Land in Jamestown, Virginia

Posted on August 20, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The stage was set for slavery in the United States as early as the 14th century, when Spain and Portugal began to capture Africans for enslavement in Europe. Slavery eventually expanded to colonial America, where the first enslaved Africans arrived … Continue reading →

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