Tag Archives: Equal Justice Initiative

On this Day in American history, September 11, 1895 — South Carolina Officials Begin Proceedings to Disenfranchise Black Residents

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

On September 11, 1895, South Carolina began the process of rewriting the state constitution with the express purpose of disenfranchising the state’s African-American voters and restoring white supremacy in all matters political. The convention’s most prominent figure was Benjamin Tillman, … Continue reading →

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

On this Day in American history, September 10, 1963 — State Funds Private School for Whites to Avoid Integration in Tuskegee, Alabama

Posted on September 10, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In January 1963, African American parents of students in Macon County, Alabama, sued the Macon County Board of Education to desegregate the county’s public schools. Though the United States Supreme Court had declared school segregation unconstitutional nearly nine years earlier, … Continue reading →

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

On this Day in American history, September 9, 1739 — Enslaved Black People Rebel in South Carolina Colony

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

During the eighteenth century, the South Carolina colony’s economy was based on rice and cotton, which relied heavily on slave labor. Due to the slave trade that brought many black laborers from West Africa and the Caribbean, the territory’s enslaved … Continue reading →

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

On this Day in American history, September 8, 1959 — Black Man Vows to Sue Mississippi Southern College if Denied Admission Due to Race

Posted on September 8, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In 1955, Clyde Kennard, a black U.S. Army veteran and Mississippi native, attempted to enroll in Mississippi Southern College, an all-white public university in the city of Hattiesburg. Mr. Kennard’s credentials met the criteria for admission, but his application was … Continue reading →

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

On this Day in American history, September 7, 1976 — First Black Person Elected to Statewide Office in the South Since Reconstruction

Posted on September 7, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On September 7, 1976, Joseph Woodrow Hatchett was elected to a seat on the Florida Supreme Court, becoming the first black person elected to any statewide office in the South since the end of Reconstruction nearly a century before. A … Continue reading →

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

On this Day in American history, September 5, 1890 — Mississippi Abolishes Convict Lease System and Authorizes Creation of Parchman Farm Penitentiary

Posted on September 6, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In the summer of 1890, 134 delegates gathered in Jackson to create a new constitution for the state of Mississippi. Their primary goal was the political disenfranchisement of the state’s black citizens; one newspaper headline declared “White Supremacy” as “The … Continue reading →

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

On this Day in American history, September 6, 2010 — Alabama Prison Bans Pulitzer Prize-Winning Book, Slavery By Another Name

Posted on September 6, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In September 2010, lawyers at the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a nonprofit civil rights law firm in Montgomery, Alabama, mailed a copy of Slavery by Another Nameto client Mark Melvin, then incarcerated at Kilby Correctional Facility. Written by award-winning journalist Douglas … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, Lest We Forget, Slavery, 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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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. … Continue reading →

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