Category Archives: Lest We Forget

This day in history — April 25, 1959 — Mack Charles Parker Lynched in Mississippi

Posted on April 27, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In what some historians call the “last classic lynching in the United States,” Mack Charles Parker was killed on April 25, 1959, after he was accused of raping a pregnant white woman in Mississippi. Parker, a black man, denied the … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This day in history — April 10, 1956 — Nat King Cole Attacked by White Men While Performing in Birmingham, Alabama

Posted on April 27, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On April 10, 1956, African American singer and pianist Nat King Cole was performing before a white-only audience of 4000 at the Municipal Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama, when he was attacked and knocked down by a group of white men. … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, race | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

This day in history — April 27, 2015 — States Continue to Celebrate Confederate Memorial Day

Posted on April 27, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In 2015, several Southern states continued to celebrate Confederate Memorial Day in memory of the surrender of Confederate General Joseph Johnston and his army on April 26, 1865. In Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, the last Monday of the month is … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, race, Slavery, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This day in history — April 21, 2007 — Turner County High School in Ashburn, Georgia, Holds First Racially Integrated Prom

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

On April 21, 2007, Turner County High School students attended the school’s first racially integrated prom. Located in Ashburn, Georgia, a small, rural, peanut-farming town of 4400 residents, the school’s racial demographics reflected those of the local community: 55% black … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, race | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

This day in history — April 18, 1946 — Davis Knight Marries Junie Lee Spradley in Mississippi

Posted on April 18, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On April 18, 1946, a thirty-two-year-old Navy veteran named Davis Knight married Junie Lee Spradley, a white woman. In June 1948, the state indicted Mr. Knight for violating a law that prohibited “marriage or cohabitation between white persons and those … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Politics, race | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This day in history — April 17, 2006 — Latino Teen Beaten, Sexually Assaulted in Texas for Trying to Kiss White Girl

Posted on April 17, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

  On April 22, 2006, David Ritcheson, a 16-year-old Latino boy, was attacked by two white teenagers, David Tuck and Keith Turner, at a house party in Spring, Texas. After Ritcheson allegedly tried to kiss a white girl at the … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, crime, Lest We Forget | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This day in history — April 14, 1906 — Horace Duncan and Fred Coker Lynched in Springfield, Illinois

Posted on April 14, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Two innocent African American men, Horace Duncan and Fred Coker, were accused of sexual assault in April 1906 in Springfield, Missouri. Whites’ fears of interracial sex extended to any action by a black man that could be interpreted as seeking … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Murder, race | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

This day in history — April 13, 1947 — Civil Rights Activist Bayard Rustin Arrested in North Carolina

Posted on April 13, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On June 3, 1946, the Supreme Court in Morgan v. Virginia declared unconstitutional state laws that segregated interstate passengers on motor carriers. Shortly thereafter, the decision was interpreted to apply to interstate train and bus travel. The executive committee of … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This day in history — April 11, 1913 — President Wilson Permits Segregation Within Federal Government

Posted on April 11, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On April 11, 1913, recently inaugurated President Woodrow Wilson received Postmaster General Albert Burleson’s plan to segregate the Railway Mail Service. Burleson reported that he found it “intolerable” that white and black employees had to work together and share drinking … Continue reading →

Posted in Lest We Forget, Politics, race, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This day in history — April 9, 1865 – Lee Surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Court House

Posted on April 9, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his approximately 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the front parlor of Wilmer McLean’s home in Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War. Less than … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Lest We Forget, Patriotism, race, Slavery, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment