On this Day in American history, September 4, 1875 — Clinton Massacre Leaves More Than 20 Blacks Dead in Mississippi

Posted on September 4, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On September 4, 1875, Republicans in Hinds County, Mississippi, held a barbecue and meeting in the town of Clinton that was attended by 3000 people. Hoping to curb the risk of violent political conflict, Clinton authorities appointed special police and prohibited serving liquor. When the Republican speakers began making their political speeches in the afternoon, Democratic party representatives unexpectedly joined the meeting and requested speaking time. In the interest of keeping peace, Republicans accommodated the request and arranged for a public discussion between Judge Amos R. Johnston, a Democratic candidate for state senate, and Captain H.T. Fisher, Republican editor of the Jackson Times.

Both speakers were to be given an equal amount of speaking time, and Johnston spoke first, giving a cordial address. Fisher expressed optimism that meetings between the parties could take place peacefully in the future but eight minutes into his address the crowd was disrupted by an altercation. Soon after, a gunfight erupted between whites and blacks, and bystanders panicked in a rush to escape the danger. About 15 minutes later, three whites and four blacks were dead, and six whites and 20 blacks were wounded.

Newspapers reported that the blacks who fired weapons did so in self defense but local whites were enraged by the show of force. That night, armed whites from Clinton and Vicksburg formed roving bands intent on killing black men. By the next day, an estimated 50 blacks had been killed and many more had been forced into the woods and swampland to avoid attack, where they remained until the violence subsided on September 6, 1875.

“The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is proud to present A History of Racial Injustice – 2018 Calendar.  America’s history of racial inequality continues to undermine fair treatment, equal justice, and opportunity for many Americans.  The genocide of Native people, the legacy of slavery and racial terror, and the legally supported abuse of racial minorities are not well understood.  EJI believes that a deeper engagement with our nation’s history of racial injustice is important to addressing present-day questions of social justice and equality.

Posted in Lest We Forget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

On this Day in American history, September 3, 1901 — Alabama’s New Constitution Bars Interracial Marriage and Mandates Segregated Schools

Posted on September 3, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On September 3, 1901, Alabama adopted a new state constitution that prohibited interracial marriage and mandated separate schools for black and white children. The state constitutional convention’s primary purpose was to legally disenfranchise black voters and the new constitution included several electoral policies to intentionally and effectively do that.

Because the Fourteenth Amendment prohibited race-based disenfranchisement, the discriminatory policies had to appear to be race-neutral but be applied with bias. The constitution called for the appointment of three registrars from each county who were expected to act with an intent to minimize African American voter registration. The constitution’s new registration rules required that voters be able to read and write any section of the United States Constitution and be lawfully employed for the previous 12 months. Anyone who did not meet the employment specification could still register if he or his wife had real estate and possessions taxed at $300. The constitution also included a “grandfather clause,” allowing otherwise ineligible voters to vote with proof that one of their grandfathers had been an eligible voter.

Prior to the enactment of the new constitution, there were approximately 75,000 registered African American voters in Alabama. It was estimated that the new rules would reduce the African American electorate to less than 30,000. Alabama delegates approved the constitution 132-12, with only one Democrat voting against it. Alabama has amended the 1901 constitution since its adoption, but has never held a convention to create a wholly new one. Several of the discriminatory provisions of the 1901 constitution, including the mandate to maintain racially segregated public schools, remain in place today.

“The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is proud to present A History of Racial Injustice – 2018 Calendar.  America’s history of racial inequality continues to undermine fair treatment, equal justice, and opportunity for many Americans.  The genocide of Native people, the legacy of slavery and racial terror, and the legally supported abuse of racial minorities are not well understood.  EJI believes that a deeper engagement with our nation’s history of racial injustice is important to addressing present-day questions of social justice and equality.

Posted in Lest We Forget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On this Day in American history, September 2, 1885 — White Miners Riot Against Chinese Laborers in Rock Springs, Wyoming

Posted on September 2, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In 1885, the Union Pacific Railroad employed 500 coal miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, two-thirds of whom were Chinese. White miners, angry that the railroad was hiring Chinese miners to take their jobs, decided to drive the Chinese out of Rock Springs.

On September 2, 1885, a dispute broke out between white and Chinese miners when both groups wanted to work in the same part of the mine. Later that day, 100 whites gathered with guns, hatchets, and knives and marched toward “Chinatown,” where the Chinese lived, to brutally attack and riot against them. The Chinese workers attempted to flee but the white miners fired at them while they ran.

Twenty-eight Chinese people were killed in the massacre and another fifteen were badly wounded. The white miners looted and burned all seventy-nine houses belonging to the Chinese, leaving “Chinatown” demolished. In the days following the riot, federal troops were brought in to establish order. They set up camp between the white area of town and “Chinatown,” to prevent more violence, and remained there for the next thirteen years. Although fourteen miners were arrested in connection with the riot and murders, no one was ever convicted of a crime.

Today, there is little evidence of the massacre. There is no burial ground for the victims because at the time “Orientals” were banned from white cemeteries; instead, the victims were cremated and their ashes returned to China. Congress eventually authorized an indemnity to China in the amount of $147,748, but the United States government never assumed legal responsibility for the massacre.

On the 100th anniversary of the massacre, historians from Western Wyoming College placed a plaque in Rock Springs City Park, which reads: “This riot was precipitated by a decade-long deliberate company policy of importing Chinese miners to lower wages, break strikes and neutralize efforts to organize labor unions. Abetting the violence and cruelty was a virulent nationwide racism that viewed the Chinese as willing slave laborers and morally degenerate.”

“The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is proud to present A History of Racial Injustice – 2018 Calendar.  America’s history of racial inequality continues to undermine fair treatment, equal justice, and opportunity for many Americans.  The genocide of Native people, the legacy of slavery and racial terror, and the legally supported abuse of racial minorities are not well understood.  EJI believes that a deeper engagement with our nation’s history of racial injustice is important to addressing present-day questions of social justice and equality.

Posted in Lest We Forget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

On this Day in American history, September 1, 1884 — Chinese American Child Denied Admission to Public School in San Francisco

Posted on September 1, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

During the week of September 1, 1884, Joseph and Mary Tape, immigrants from China who had lived in the United States for over a decade, attempted to enroll their eight-year-old, American-born daughter, Mamie Tape, in San Francisco’s Spring Valley School. Principal Jennie Hurley denied the Tapes’ request on the basis of their race, and State Education Superintendent William Welcher supported that decision. Welcher justified the denial in part by noting that even the California Constitution described Chinese-Americans as “dangerous to the well-being of the state.”

In response to the school’s refusal to admit their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Tape sued. On January 9, 1885, a California Superior Court judge ruled in the Tapes’ favor, holding that denial of admission would be a violation of California state law and the United States Constitution. The state appealed the ruling to the California Supreme Court, which affirmed the lower court’s ruling and held that Chinese students had a right to public education; the decision did not, however, prohibit the creation of segregated schools.

In response, the California legislature passed a bill requiring public school districts to create separate schools for Chinese-American students and to prohibit Chinese-American students from attending schools attended by white children. When Mamie arrived for school after the California Supreme Court’s decision, she was denied entry because her vaccinations were not up to date. By the time the Tape family was able to comply with the vaccination requirements, a new school had been opened for Chinese-American students and Mamie was forced to enroll there.

The Mamie Tape case occurred in the midst of extensive discriminatory treatment of Chinese-American children in California’s public schools. Until 1880, Asian-American students were forbidden from attending public schools altogether. The law excluding Chinese-American students from public schools attended by whites, which was passed in the wake of the Mamie Tape case, was enforced until the late 1920s.

“The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is proud to present A History of Racial Injustice – 2018 Calendar.  America’s history of racial inequality continues to undermine fair treatment, equal justice, and opportunity for many Americans.  The genocide of Native people, the legacy of slavery and racial terror, and the legally supported abuse of racial minorities are not well understood.  EJI believes that a deeper engagement with our nation’s history of racial injustice is important to addressing present-day questions of social justice and equality.

Posted in Lest We Forget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 Civil Rights Act, which contained a provision that conditioned federal funding for school districts on integration.

In 1966, twelve years after Brown, the United States Office of Education issued regulations to segregated districts that provided guidance on school desegregation and required that segregated districts submit integration plans to the federal government. Noncompliant districts risked losing federal funds under the Civil Rights Act.

Alabama’s legislature responded by passing a bill proposed by Governor George Wallace, forbidding Alabama school districts from entering into desegregation agreements with the federal government. At legislative hearings, representatives of Alabama’s teachers’ unions spoke against the bill and warned that it would put twenty-four million dollars of federal funding for Alabama schools at risk. Nevertheless, the bill passed the Alabama Senate almost unanimously on August 31, 1966, with only seven members voting against it. Shortly after, the Alabama House of Representatives passed the bill, and Governor Wallace signed it into law on September 9, 1966.

In the wake of the law’s passage, several Alabama school districts revised or rejected previously-negotiated desegregation plans.

 

“The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is proud to present A History of Racial Injustice – 2018 Calendar.  America’s history of racial inequality continues to undermine fair treatment, equal justice, and opportunity for many Americans.  The genocide of Native people, the legacy of slavery and racial terror, and the legally supported abuse of racial minorities are not well understood.  EJI believes that a deeper engagement with our nation’s history of racial injustice is important to addressing present-day questions of social justice and equality.

Posted in Lest We Forget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 order and the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision barring racial segregation in schools, the Mansfield school board approved a plan to admit 12 black students to all-white Mansfield High School. However, many local white residents opposed integration and some took to the streets in protest.

On August 30, 1956, the first day of school, mobs of white pro-segregationists guarded Mansfield High School and patrolled the streets threatening to use guns and other weapons to prevent black children from registering. Outside the school, the mob hung an African American effigy at the top of the school’s flag pole and set it on fire. Attached to one pant leg of the effigy was a sign that read, “This Negro tried to enter a white school. This would be a terrible way to die.” On the other leg, a sign read, “Stay Away, Niggers.” A second effigy was hung on the front of the school building.

In response, Texas Governor Allan Shivers sent six Texas Rangers to Mansfield with instructions to “maintain law and order” and transfer any students “white or colored, whose attendance or attempts to attend Mansfield High School would be reasonably calculated to incite violence.” Soon afterward, the Mansfield School Board voted to “exhaust all legal remedies to delay segregation.” Though the United States Supreme Court in December 1956 rejected the Mansfield school district’s request to delay integration due to local opposition, resistance and non-compliance continued for years. Mansfield, Texas, public schools did not officially desegregate until 1965.

 

“The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is proud to present A History of Racial Injustice – 2018 Calendar.  America’s history of racial inequality continues to undermine fair treatment, equal justice, and opportunity for many Americans.  The genocide of Native people, the legacy of slavery and racial terror, and the legally supported abuse of racial minorities are not well understood.  EJI believes that a deeper engagement with our nation’s history of racial injustice is important to addressing present-day questions of social justice and equality.

Posted in Lest We Forget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 a nearby store to buy candy. While there, Till allegedly acted “familiar” when speaking to the white female storekeeper, Carolyn Bryant. This was a dangerous transgression in the racial caste system of the Mississippi Delta, a system of which Chicago-bred Emmett Till was largely unaware. Within a few days, word of the interaction reached Carolyn Bryant’s husband, Roy.

On August 28, 1955, Roy Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, abducted Emmett Till at gunpoint from his great-uncle’s home and drove him to a storage shed on Milam’s property in Drew, Mississippi. Each man took turns torturing and beating Till with a pistol, then took the battered boy to a nearby ginning company and forced him to load a 74-pound fan into the back of their pick-up truck. The men then drove Till to the edge of the Tallahatchie River, ordered him to remove his clothes, and shot him in the head. Bryant and Milam then attached the heavy fan to the child’s neck and rolled his body into the river.

On August 31, 1955, Emmett Till’s corpse was discovered by two young boys. Devastated by her son’s brutal murder and badly disfigured body, Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till Bradley, defiantly held an open-casket funeral in Chicago, where thousands gazed in horror at his mutilated body. To show the world the fate that had befallen Emmett, Mrs. Bradley also distributed a photograph of his corpse for publication in newspapers and magazines, later explaining that “the whole nation had to bear witness to this.”

 

“The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is proud to present A History of Racial Injustice – 2018 Calendar.  America’s history of racial inequality continues to undermine fair treatment, equal justice, and opportunity for many Americans.  The genocide of Native people, the legacy of slavery and racial terror, and the legally supported abuse of racial minorities are not well understood.  EJI believes that a deeper engagement with our nation’s history of racial injustice is important to addressing present-day questions of social justice and equality.

Posted in Lest We Forget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 morning, a contingent of 400-500 masked men, mounted on horses and armed with shot guns, demanded entrance to the Gibson County Jail. The men confronted the jailer and threatened to kill him if he did not relinquish the keys to the cell holding the African American men. After the jailer gave the leader of the mob the key, the members of the mob bound the men by their hands and led them out of the jail cell. The jailer would later testify that he soon heard a series of gun shots in the distance.

Upon investigation soon after the kidnapping, the jailer found six of the men lying along nearby Huntingdon Road – four were dead, their bodies “riddled with bullets.” Two of the men, found wounded but alive, later died before receiving medical attention. The bodies of the ten remaining men were later found at the bottom of a river about one mile from town.

Local white officials denounced the lynching and held an inquest that concluded the men were killed by “shots inflicted by guns in the hands of unknown parties.” The town mayor also expressed local whites’ fears that black people throughout the county were arming themselves in plans to exact retaliatory violence. Just one day after the mass murder of sixteen black men by hundreds of white men who remained unidentified and free, the mayor ordered police to take all guns belonging to Trenton’s black residents and threatened to shoot those who resisted.

 

“The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is proud to present A History of Racial Injustice – 2018 Calendar.  America’s history of racial inequality continues to undermine fair treatment, equal justice, and opportunity for many Americans.  The genocide of Native people, the legacy of slavery and racial terror, and the legally supported abuse of racial minorities are not well understood.  EJI believes that a deeper engagement with our nation’s history of racial injustice is important to addressing present-day questions of social justice and equality.

Posted in Lest We Forget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

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 serving the city’s primarily African American Trinity Lutheran Church, Pastor Graetz was a member of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the community group that had planned and guided the city’s bus boycott to protest racially discriminatory treatment toward black bus riders. Pastor Graetz had been an outspoken supporter of the ongoing bus boycott since it began on December 5, 1955, and was known to regularly provide transportation to boycott participants traveling to and from work.

At the time of the explosion, Pastor Graetz was attending an integration workshop in Tennessee. His wife and children were not at home and no one was injured in the blast. In January 1956, the Montgomery homes of local minister Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and E.D. Nixon, former president of the local NAACP, were bombed. Both men were active boycott leaders.

In response to the bombing of Paster Graetz’s home, Montgomery Mayor W. A. Gayle called it an inside job and claimed the attack was “just a publicity stunt to build up interest of the Negroes in their campaign . . . This latest bombing follows the usual pattern. It’s a strange coincidence that when interest appears to be flagging in the bus boycott something like this happens.” No one was arrested, charged, or convicted for the attack.

 

“The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is proud to present A History of Racial Injustice – 2018 Calendar.  America’s history of racial inequality continues to undermine fair treatment, equal justice, and opportunity for many Americans.  The genocide of Native people, the legacy of slavery and racial terror, and the legally supported abuse of racial minorities are not well understood.  EJI believes that a deeper engagement with our nation’s history of racial injustice is important to addressing present-day questions of social justice and equality.

Posted in Lest We Forget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 ten unmasked men came to Hart’s home around 9:30 p.m. claiming to be deputy sheriffs and informing Hart he was accused of looking into the girl’s window. Hart professed his innocence and readily agreed to go to the county jail with the men, but did not live to complete the journey.

Shortly after midnight the next day, Hart’s handcuffed and bullet-riddled body was found in a ditch about three miles from the city. Hart had been shot six times and witnesses reported seeing him earlier that night fleeing several white men on foot who were shooting at him as several more automobiles filled with white men followed.

Police investigating Hart’s murder soon determined he was innocent of the accusation against him; he was at his home 12 miles away when the alleged peeping incident occurred.

Posted in Lest We Forget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment