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Alabama KKK Lynching
Klan lynched 4 African Americans in Montgomery in less than 24 hours -
KKK Killing in Houston County
Houston County, Alabama: Klan shot and killed a Black man as he's waiting on a platform for a northbound train. -
KKK Murder
Klan murder 2 Black men in Shelby County (Alabama), because they decided to quit their low-paying farm jobs. -
Klan Flog White Doctor
Ensley (Alabama) KKK flog White doctor for treating Black patients -
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Rape of Murdus Dixon
Rape of 12 year old African American girl at knife point by White man who hired her as a domestic in Birmingham, AL. Occurred in early 1930's and never went to trial. -
Scottsboro Boys Case/"Nigger Rape Case"
Scottsboro, AL: White men tried to brutalize 9 African American boys who were jailed after being forced off of a train for ruff-housing with white hobos along with two white prostitutes, Ruby Bates Victoria Price. The boys were accused of rape of the women and chewing off one of Ruby's breasts. The boys were tried, convicted, sentenced to death by electric chair within 2 weeks. It took almost 20 yrs (1950) for the last boy to be freed from prison. -
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Rape of Mary Poole
Sometime in January, John H. Davis (Fayetteville, NC) lured 16 yr old Mary Poole away from her home with the promise of a nursing job for his wife but instead drove her to some woods and raped her. Then left her in the woods and tossed her clothes out the window. -
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White Male of Black Female Rape Convictions in Mississippi
10 in 15 yrs: (Adams County) Clyde Johnson-15 yrs assault w/ intent rape. (Jones County) Laverne Yarbrough-life for rape 7 yr old. Paroled shortly after sentencing. Bennett Austin Charles Wiggins-2 yrs for raping a blk teenager. (Brookhaven) Ernest Dillon-20 yrs in prison, confessed to rape blk woman on the eve of her wedding. Robert Hamblin (Union County) Abraham Sloan (Washington County)-1 yr each attempted rape. (Yazoo County) Bobby Smith-5 yrs assault w/ intent rape blk mid-aged woman. -
Ella Ree Jones Bus Incident
Montgomery, AL: Ella left class at Alabama State Teachers College and didn't feel well. Boarded the Cleveland Ave. bus (same one Rosa Parks later became famous for) and sat in colored section. Bus driver told her to stand so a White man could sit, Ella refused. Driver got off bus and summoned police. Police took Ella and she scratched on of their faces. When they got to the jail, they beat her with a pipe, kicked her, slammed her head against the building, then put her in jail overnight. -
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Rape of Sadie Mae Gibson
Decatur, AL: Sometime in May, 23 yr old Black schoolteacher, Sadie was walking home one afternoon when 16 yr old White Dan Olinger forced her into a clump of bushes and raped her at rifle point. -
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Molestation of Rosa Lee Cherry
Little Rock, AK: Sometime in July, Black high school student, Rosa, was walking home from church when she was forced to get into the car by three White uniformed police officers by being threatened with jail if she didn't get in. The cops took her behind a railroad embankment and molested her. Rosa was able to get away by promising to go 'get them another girl'. -
Case of the Rape of Rosa Lee Cherry (Little Rock, AK)
Little Rock, Arkansas: 2 White police officers charged with the rape of Rosa Lee Cherry, a 19 year old Black student at Dunbar High School. Officers walked free after case ended in a mistrial. -
Parks joins NAACP
Rosa Parks joins Montgomery NAACP and is elected branch secretary at her first meeting. She went around and documented "acts of brutality, unsolved murders, voter intimidation, and other racial incidents" which occurred to African American citizens of Montgomery, AL (McGuire, 2010). -
Park's 1st James F. Blake Bus Incident
Montgomery, AL: Rosa refused to get off the bus and enter from the rear after paying at the front. She sat down after pretending to drop her purse and Blake forced her off the bus. Rosa vowed to never ride his bus again. -
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Events in 1943
In 1943, there were 242 interracial violent clashes in 47 cities in the US. Marilynn S. Johnson, “Gender, Race, and Rumours: Re-examining the 1943 Race Riots,” Gender and History 10, no. 2 (August 1998): 259. -
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Events in Mississippi
White men castrated, mutilated, and lynched two 14 yr old Black boys for playing tag with a White girl near the town of Quitman; murdered a dairy farmer, who had used self-defense when his White employer attacked him; killed Reverend Isaac Simmons and cut off his tongue for refusing to sell his land; whipped Leon McTate to death for allegedly stealing a saddle; and beat Malcolm Wright to a bloody pulp because they didn’t like the way he drove a wagon. -
Beaumont (Texas) Riot
Beaumont, TX: Rumor that black man brutally raped, beat, and stabbed an 18 yr old telephone operator plans of black soldiers to invade the city in search of unprotected white women. Then a 24 yr old White woman claimed a Black man attacked her in her 'victory garden' and it sparked riot by 2000+ White men which left hundreds injured, 3 dead, destroyed 200+ buildings. -
Southern Negro Youth Conference (SNYC)
Middle-class, progressive, communist activist group which coordinated campaigns, investigated police brutality, condemned the poll tax, pushed for the ballot, and fought for human rights (McGuire, 2010). -
Recy Taylor Rape
Abbeville, AL: Six white men (Hugo Wilson, Dillard York, Billy Howerton, Herbert Lovett, Luther Lee, Joe Culpepper, Robert Gamble) gang raped Recy Taylor. They abducted her as she was leaving church saying that she was the woman who cut a White man earlier that morning and they were taking her to Sheriff Gamble. They instead took her to the woods and raped her then dropped her off on under a streetlight. 7th man was present but did not rape her. -
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Recy Taylor's Rape "Trial"
Henry County trail of Taylor's rape by 6 White men. Jury of all white men decided the verdict of Recy's case, none of the 6 accused men had been arrested, or were brought in for a line-up, therefore, none of the witnesses could identify the rapists. -
1945 Alabama Military Camp Bus Incident
Alabama military camp: Private Roberta McKenzie Private First Class Gladys Blackmon were told by the bus driver to stand for a White male passenger to sit on an empty bus despite being seated in the colored section. When they refused he knocked their hats off with his nightstick, punched them in the breast and cursed at them then pushed them off the bus. -
Decatur, GA Rape Trial
After 6 minutes of deliberation, all White jury returns 'not guilty' verdict for case where 3 White men kidnapped and raped a 17 year old Black high school girl. -
Rape & Murder of Aletha "Lila" Bell Carter
Pine Island, SC (Horry County): 11 yr old 'Lila Belle' was abducted on the way to the store for some rice, by a White insurance collector. He raped her, murdered her, and left her face down in a puddle of mud. No charges were ever filed and cause of death on her death certificate is drowning. (Book says event happened in October and that she was 16) "Killing of Aletha Bell Carter in South Carolina in 1945." CRRJ Archive. https://crrjarchive.org/incidents/882 (accessed December 26, 2024). -
Creation of Women's Political Council (WPC)
Montgomery, AL: Fall of 1946, Mary Fair Burks invited women from her church (Dexter Ave Baptist) to discuss the unfair treatment they received from police and bus drivers and how they could protest this treatment to enact change. Also formed voter registration schools. -
Jones & Harris Beating
Minden, Louisiana: John C. Jones 28 yr old veteran his17 yr old cousin, Albert Harris jailed for acting 'uppity' after protesting an unfair land deal. Police claimed they were prowling around a White woman's window. The were released into a mob of armed White men. Mob drove them down a country road and tortured and beat both men and thought they killed both of them. Jones died but Harris survived and identified 5 of the murderers. An all White jury acquitted them. -
Case of Viola White & Rape of her Daughter (Alabama)
Montgomery, AL: White, worked at Maxwell Airforce, refused to give up her seat when instructed by a White bus driver. He called the cops. White was beaten then arrested and found guilty of "disobeying a White bus driver". White hired an lawyer to appeal. Soon after, Officer E.A. Enger seized White's 16 yr old daughter, drove to a cemetary and raped her. She memorized his car's plate during the rape and reported it. A judge issued a warrant but allowed him to escape town. -
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Race-driven Murders
Uniformed officers reportedly killed five black men, all veterans, because they had taken part in voter registration drives. -
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WCC 'massive resistance' movement
By Feb 1946, 40,000 White Alabamians (many in Montgomery) had joined WCC helping to launch the massive resistance movement. This was a political strategy created by Henry F. Byrd James M. Thomson to prevent school desegregation in VA/nationally. Included closing schools/school systems to prevent integration. Retaliation on Blacks who signed integration petitions (closed bank accounts, eviction, harassment, lost jobs, etc.) -
Beating of Sergeant Isaac Woodard
Aiken, SC: Chief of Police, Linwood Shull, jammed his billy club into Black serviceman Sergeant Isaac Woodard's eye after he was in an argument with a White bus driver. Woodard was permanently blinded. An all White jury acquitted Shull of all charges. -
Murder of Maceo Snipes
Georgia: on election day, Maceo Snipes, a veteran goes to cast his 1st and last vote. Later that night, 4 white men dragged him from his home and murdered him. -
Murder at Moore's Ford Bridge (Georgia)
A White mob led by the GA state police shot 2 Black couples to death, Roger Malcom his pregnant wife Dorothy her brother, George Dorsey (veteran). Roger had stabbed his White landlord earlier that summer b/c he allegedly showed sexual interest in Dorothy George defended his sister's womanhood brother-in-law's actions. -
Formation of the National Emergency Committee Against Mob Violence
National NAACP 40 additional civil rights groups formed the Committee to focus national international attention on racist brutality. -
Rape of Nannie Strayhorn
Richmond, VA: 32 yr old African American married mother of two sons, Nannie accepted a ride home from two White police officers, Carl R. Burleson (27) and Leonard E. Davis (43) who stated they would take her home. They did not take her home but instead to an isolated area outside of town and took turns raping her at gunpoint. Both cops were indicted for her rape by an all White jury and received a prison sentence of 7 yrs. -
Rape of Ruby Atee Pigford
Meridian, MS: James Lee Perry, White oil dealer with financial means, raped teenage African American Ruby after getting her by promising a babysitting job which would pay $0.75/hour. Perry picked up Ruby and drove her to a nearby bar instead of his house, she would not go in with him, upset, he beat her unconscious, raped her, tied her to his bumper and drug her through town before dumping her outside of her home later that evening. -
Case of Rosa Lee Ingram (Ellaville, Georgia)
Rosa Lee, Blk widowed sharecropping mother of 12, was forced into a shed by White 64 yr old sharecropping neighbor, John Stratford, for sex. She refused as she's always done Stratford repeatedly hit Lee with the butt of his gun. Wallace, Rosa's 16 yr old son picked up the gun and hit John in the head with it. They both ran home not knowing John was dead. Rosa was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. NAACP funded the challenge of her conviction and it was overturned August 26, 1959. -
Rape of Janie Mae Patterson
Clio, AL: White man offered 11 year old Janie $5 to help him find a well to satisfy his thirst. Janie got in the car, man did not follow her directions but instead took her to a mill 5 miles away, laid down a blanket, and raped her. -
Rape of Mrs. Mamie Patterson
Tuscumbia, AL: Mamie refused to tell Herschel Gasque Charles Berryhill where her husband was when they came to their home looking for him to 'settle a debt'. Mamie told them to leave but they forced entry and found him hiding inside and beat him. They then forced Mamie into their car, drove away and raped her and told her to perform 'abnormal acts'. -
Creation of Congress of Racial Equality
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was a mostly Northern organization formed to protest racial segregation. -
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Little Scottsboro Case
Groveland, FL: In 1949, Samuel Shepard, Walter Irvin, Charles Greenlee were accused of raping a white woman. Guilty verdicts overturned by Supreme Court in 1951 Sheriff Willis McCall picked up Shepard Irvin to transport to from Raiford State Prison to county. He had them get out to change the tire and shot them in the chest. Told his boss he'd gotten rid of them. Irvin survived but Shepard died. -
Martinsville Seven (Virginia) - Ruby Floyd
Martinsville, VA: Ruby Floyd, a 32 yr old White woman, accused 7 Black men of violently raping her. 7 suspects were arrested and convicted of rape and sentenced to death. Execution of all 7 on February 2, 1951. -
Gertrude Perkins
Montgomery, AL: Two police officers abducted Gertrude Perkins on her way home from a night of partying. They raped her repeatedly at gunpoint, dropped her off in the middle of town then drove off. Gertrude walked directly to Rev. Solomon S. Seay's home and reported it. He believed her despite her drunken state. He was beat and arrested when leaving a meeting regarding Perkins' rape. All White jury refused to indict for the rape. -
Murder of Hillard Brooks (Alabama)
Montgomery, AL: African American WWII vet Brooks attempted to board C.L. Hood's bus and was refused because Hood said he was too intoxicated. Brooks demanded to ride, Hood pushed him off the front steps and called over Officer M.E. Mills. As Brooks struggled to stand, Mills aimed his pistol at his head and shot him. The mayor cleared both men under the claim of self-defense. -
Formation of the Sojourners for Truth and Justice (STJ)
STJ is a national Black woman organization dedicated to the "full dignity of Negro womanhood", created in the fall by Louise Thompson Patterson, a Communist and wife of William Patterson, the head of the Civil Rights Congress, and Beulah Richardson, a poet and Progressive Party activist from Mississippi. -
Rape of Flossie Hardman (Alabama)
Sam E. Green (White grocery store owner) raped Black 15 year old Flossie on his way driving her home after she babysat for him one night. An all white jury returned a not guilty verdict after 5 minutes of deliberation. Rufus A. Lewis (WWII vet, and Alabama State Uni football coach) organized to bring Green to trial and when he wasn't convicted, organized area Blacks to stop shopping at his store and caused Green to go out of business. -
Case of Willie McGee
Laurel, MS: Black, 31 yr old, married father of 4, Willie was sentenced to death, and executed via electrocution, because his White female employer, Willametta Hawkins accused him of rape after she forced him into a sexual relationship with her by threatening to accuse him of rape if he didn't sleep with her. Willie ended the relationship in November 1945 right before Hawkins' husband, Troy found out about the relationship and they had a fight. Hawkins then called the police and cried rape. -
Case of Mack Ingram (North Carolina)
Yancyville, NC: Mack Ingram (42 yr old, Blk, father of 9) walked through a field to ask his White neighbor to borrow trailer. Neighbor's 18 yr old daughter, Willa Jean Boswell, saw Mack approaching and ran screaming. She told her brother that Mack was leering at her. Mack was arrested and sentenced for the crime of "eye rape", despite Willa admitting that Mack never spoke to her and was at least 75 ft away from her at all times. He received 2 yrs of hard labor. NC Supreme court dismissed in 43. -
Case of Jeremiah Reeves
Montgomery, AL: White woman caught undressing with her 16 yr old Blk lover, Jeremiah Reeves. She cries rape. He's arrested and cops beat a confession from him. He's sentenced to death and executed in 1957 after all challenges by the NAACP, even to the U.S. Supreme Court are unsuccessful. -
Execution of Abraham Beard
17 yr old Blk male youth of raping a Wht woman. Tried convicted by all white jury. Judge W. May Walker presided (same as Betty Jean Owens) , William D. Hopkins was state prosecutor, Harry Michael was his court-appointed attorney (also Patrick Scarborough's attorney in 1959). -
Brown vs Board of Education
Supreme Court rules segregation in schools illegal -
Letter to Mayor W.A. 'Tacky' Gayle
Montgomery, AL: Jo Ann Robinson, leader of WPC (since 1951), wrote to Mayor Gayle detailing what would happen if Gayle and the other city commissioners ignored the WPC's demands for better treatment on city busses. Threatened Blacks (makes up a majority of their customers) would no longer patronize the busses if there wasn't a change in treatment. -
Creation of White Citizens' Council
Thomas P. Brady, Brookhaven, MS, circuit court judge, called on state legislators to build an organization to protect white supremacy by any means necessary; White Citizens’ Council (WCC), an organization designed to “counteract the NAACP other left-wing organizations.” The WCC quickly spread throughout MS the Deep South, especially areas where Af Am pressed for desegregation of schools or public accommodations. In MS alone, the WCC counted 25,000 members in 1955 and nearly 80,000 in 1956. -
Murder of Rev. George Lee
Mississippi Delta: May 1955 - Whites murdered Reverend George Lee for registering voters -
Murder of August Smith
Mississippi Delta: August 1955 - 60 yr old African American farmer August Smith was killed in broad daylight for voting in a primary and teaching other Blacks how to register -
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"Magic City" to "Bombingham"
Birmingham, AL: At least 21 bombings occurred in a 3 year timespan -
Case of Claudette Colvin
Montgomery, AL: 15 yr old Claudette refused to give up seat on bus across from White woman when driver Robert W. Cleere ordered. Police ordered her to move, she refused stating she was as good as any White person. She was arrested, charged, convicted. Judge Wiley C. Hill found her guilty of assault and battery and charged her with violating state vs city segregation laws. Sentenced to indefinite probation. -
Appeal of Claudette Colvin's Guilty Verdict
Colvin's lawyer, 24 yr old Fred Gray, appealed the verdict in circuit court. Solicitor William F. Thetford dropped the state segregation charge. Circuit court judge Eugene Carter found Claudette guilty of assault battery, gave her a small fine, and declared her a juvenile delinquent. -
Murder of Emmett Till
Money, Mississippi - J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant murdered 14 yr old Emmett Till for allegedly flirting with Bryant's wife. They were acquitted of murder on September 23rd and later admitted to committing the murder to a journalist of Look magazine. -
Rape of Endesha "Ida Mae" Holland
Greenwood, MS: 11 yr old Ida Mae asked to babysit their granddaughter by Mrs. Holland and promised $2 a birthday bonus. Mrs. Holland takes Ida Mae upstairs to see Mr. Holland who 'wants to wish her a happy birthday'. He rapes her, pays her $5 and tells her to leave. She drops out of school becomes a prostitute until she runs into SNCC organizer Bob Paris Moses in 1962 and volunteers with SNCC herself and quits selling herself. -
Arrest of Mary Louise Smith (Alabama)
Montgomery, AL: Smith, an 18 yr old maid, arrested for refusing to give up her seat and stand in the colored section for a White woman. E. D. Nixon found she also wasn't an appropriate rep for a racial boycott b/c of her lower financial class father's alcoholism. Smith's father paid the fine a few days after her arrest, preventing any legal challenge. -
Rosa Parks Famous Bus Incident
Montgomery, AL: Rosa rides the Cleveland Ave bus when driver James F. Blake tells her to get up for White passengers. Rosa refuses and he gets police. White officers F.B. Day D. W. Mixon arrest Rosa for violating the city's segregation ordinance. After a 5 minute trial, Judge John B. Scott finds Rosa guilty of violating the state's segregation ordinance and gives her a suspended sentence a $14 fine. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Robinson the WPC along with the support of the Black community in Montgomery, AL carry-out a boycott starting on the day of Rosa Parks' trial. The buses are empty the entire day as Blacks walk or catch rides to work, errands, etc. Boycott continued for 381 days. -
Creation of the Montgomery Improvement Association
Montgomery, AL: Attorney Fred Gray, E.D. Nixon, and local Black ministers gathered to form a group/plan in support of Rosa Parks. Appointed Martin Luther King Jr. as President. Neither Rosa, or Jo Ann Robinson were present at this foundational meeting. MLK Jr. delivered a speech that night at Holt St. Baptist Church and Rosa simply stood in front of the crowd. -
Creation of MIA Transportation Committee
Almost 300 private vehicles including a church van, utilized 42 pick-up locations to transport Black Montgomery citizens who previously utilized the bus system. -
Mayor Gayle's "Get Tough" Policy Enacted (Montgomery, AL)
Gayle enacted a city-wide policy to have policy write tickets to all Black people waiting for MIA transportation as "loitering" and to write Black people traffic tickets for every violation. Wanted to discourage and break up the Montgomery Bus Boycott. -
Grand Jury Indictment - Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery, AL - grand jury indicted MLK Jr., Rosa Parks, and 87 other individuals on violating a 1921 statute outlawing boycotts. -
Prosecution of MLK Jr.
MLK Jr. was indicted for conspiracy. Idea was to remove MLK Jr. as the leader and driving force of the movement and cause it to shutdown. Because MLK Jr. was only a figurehead, removing him would not have stopped the movement. -
Mistrial of Case of Rape of Annette Butler
Judge Tom Brady (one of the fathers of the WCC) declared a mistrial after he appointed the finest lawyers in MS to represent the rapists, after Ernest Dillon pleaded guilty to assault w/ the intent to rape on 3/26/57, then Olen Duncan pleaded not guilty on 4/4/57 despite his previous signed admission. 4/5/57 Judge Brady declared a mistrial for Durora Duncan (Olen's cousin) who pleaded not guilty the jury deadlocked. Same day Judge Brady sentenced Dillon to 20 yrs hard labor. -
Rape of Annette Dixon (Tylertown, MS)
4 White men (Ernest Dillon, 29 yr old siding salesman; his brother Ollie, a middle-aged construction worker; 21 yr old cousins Olen and Durora Duncan. Ernest approached Blk Stennis Butler w/ a shotgun, ordered him to take him to a house w/ Blk women. Ernest took them to 16 yr old Annette her mother's house. Ernest placed Annette under arrest (acting as a police officer). They drove her into a swamp and raped her then left her there. She went to the police and reported what happened. -
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Tallahassee Bus Boycott
Tallahassee, FL: Successful, nonviolent student led bus boycott protesting segregation of the city buses. Began when FAMU students Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson refused to move to the back of the bus and police arrested them for 'inciting a riot'. Book mentioned C.K. Steele as the head of the boycott. -
"Wolf Whistle" murder of John Morgan
Richmond, VA: 31 yr old Af. Am. combat vet Rudolph Valentino Henry wife were walking home from movie when Morgan (White) honked and whistled at wife. Henry advised Morgan was speaking to his wife and Morgan stated he didn't care, he would make a date w/ her if he wanted. Fight ensued, Henry stabbed Morgan and Morgan died. Henry plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter Nov 10, 1956 received a suspended sentence. -
Supreme Court Case Browder v. Gayle
4 plaintiffs, Claudette Colvin, Mary Louise Smith, Mrs. Aurelia Browder, Mrs. Susie McDonald filed the lawsuit that ended segregation on public transportation. Supreme Court affirmed U.S. district court’s decision in Browder v. Gayle that segregation, even outside public schools, violated the due process equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Killed “separate but equal” doctrine est by 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson. Browder decision was an affirmation of African Americans’ humanity. -
End of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
After almost 381 days of boycotting, the Montgomery Bus Boycott ends. -
Klan Murder of Willie Edwards Jr.
Montgomery, AL: January 1957 - due to fear of Black men having sex with White women after the passing of Brown v Board. Rumor in Montgomery was spread that a Blk truck driver was involved with a Wht woman. Klan stopped Willie and despite his denial of interracial involvement, walked him to the edge of a bridge that went across the Alabama river and forced him to jump to his death. -
Creation of Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) created to turn the success of Montgomery into a national movement. -
Castration of Edward Judge Aaron
Union Springs, AL: group of white men attacked 34 yr old Edward as he and his wife walked along the road. They pistol whipped him and then pulled his pants down and cut off his testicles with a razor. Taunted him saying things like "you think any nigger as good as any white man? (147)" -
Integration of Central High School in Little Rock, AK
President Dwight Eisenhower sent 1,000 paratroopers from 101st Airborne Division to escort 9 African Americans, including Melba Pastillo, into class. This was done as a response to Governor Orval Faubus calling the National Guard to keep the same 9 students out of the school in order to preserve segregation. -
Sentencing of the "Kissing Case" - Monroe, NC
Oct. 28: 7 yr old Sissy Sutton (W) her 2 friends played kissing game w/ (B) 8 yr old David Ezell “Fuzzy” Simpson 10 yr old James Hanover Grissom Thompson. Sissy told her mom who called the police reported it as attempted rape. Mob was formed, police found the boys, arrested beat them, held them in jail for 6 days. Boys' families were tormented. Boys convicted of molestation sent to Morrison Training School for Negros in Hoffman, NC for 'indeterminate terms' but reunited w/ fam 2/13/59. -
Rape of Betty Jean Owens
Tallahassee, FL: Owens, an African American college student, was kidnapped and gang-raped (7 times) by 4 White men (Patrick Scarborough, David Beagles, William Collinsworth-24 yr old married telephone lineman, and Ollie Stoutamire-16 yr old cousin of police chief). All admitted to doing it then later plead not guilty. Convicted guilty w/ mercy and given life sentences. -
Lynching of Mack Charles Parker
Tallahassee, FL: Parker's bloated body was found floating in the Pearl River because 2 days before his trial in which he was charged for the kidnapping and rape of a 24 yr old white woman who could barely identify him in a lineup, 8-10 white men took him from the jail, savagely beat and killed him. -
White v Shaw
Union County, NC: Georgia Davis White, a Black maid at the Hotel Monroe, accused Brodus F. Shaw, a white railroad engineer, of beating and kicking her down a flight of stairs after she allegedly disturbed his sleep. The judge dismissed the charges against Shaw, even though he did not show up for court. -
Reed v Medlin
Union County, NC: Mrs. Mary Ruth Reed, a pregnant sharecropper, testified that Lewis Medlin, a white mechanic, attempted to rape her in front of her 5 children. Trying to get help, she scooped up her youngest child ran across a field. Medlin knocked her down beat her until a neighbor heard her screams called the police. Medlin’s attorney argued that he had been drinking was “just having a little fun.” Jury broke for deliberation, less than 10 mins later returned a not guilty verdict. -
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Conviction of Retired Col. Grady F. Smith
Montgomery, Alabama: Grady F. Smith, a retired air force colonel, was sentenced to 14 months of hard labor for raping a 17 year-old African-American girl. -
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Conviction of Ralph Lee Betts
Raleigh, NC - Ralph Lee Betts, a white 36 year-old ex-convict, was sentenced to life imprisonment for kidnapping and molesting an 11 year-old African-American girl. -
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Sentencing of Fred G. Davis to Electric Chair for Rape
Beaufort, SC - an all-white jury sentenced a white marine named Fred G. Davis to the electric chair—a first in the history of the South—for raping a 47 year-old African-American woman. -
The "A&T Four" or "Greensboro Sit In"
Greensboro, NC: 4 African American students of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC AT University) - Ezell Blair, Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond - sat at the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter for Whites only and refused to move. They were protesting segregation and demanding that the lunch counter be integrated. They were refused service, but sat there until the restaurant closed. -
Conviction of L. J. Lowden for Rape
Grenada, MS: L. J. Lowden, married white man convicted of rape, without mercy, of 16 yr old black girl. Sentenced to death. Judge Henry Lee Rodgers made jury adjust verdict due to automatic death sentence and jury changed it to guilty w/ mercy with a sentence of life w/ possibility of parole. -
Boynton v. Virginia - Supreme Court Case
Ruled segregation in pub transpo fac unconstitutional. Howard law student arrested for trespass/spent night in jail b/c he sat in Wht section of VA bus terminal restaurant on 40 min layover frm DC to Montgomery. Sup Crt interpreted Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 to prohibit all forms of racial segregation in pub transpo. Case expanded on 1946 VA decision-made segregation in interstate transpo illegal. Decision outlawed segregated waiting rms, lunch counters, restrms for interstate passengers. -
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Freedom Rides
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organized the Freedom Rides. The riders traveled from Washington, D.C. to Jackson, Mississippi. The rides challenged the non-enforcement of the 1960 Supreme Court decision in Boynton v. Virginia, which ruled that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional. -
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Washington, DC - civil rights demonstration held to protest racial discrimination and support civil rights legislation. MLK Jr's "I Have A Dream" Speech. -
The Children's Crusade
Birmingham, AL: thousands of students marched from Sixth Street Baptist Church to downtown Birmingham. Police arrested hundreds of students, and Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor (Birmingham Commissioner of Public Safety) ordered police and fire departments to use force, dogs and firehoses, to stop the march. -
The Birmingham Riot
Birmingham, AL: African-American leaders were bombed, which led to a riot in downtown Birmingham. Local African-Americans burned businesses and fought with police. -
Radio Announcement of Report Regarding Female Freedom Demonstrators Treatment in Southern Prisons
WNEW (one of NYC's most popular radio stations): Dorothy Height - Pres. of National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) Jeanne Noble - Pres. of Delta Sigma Theta (DST) announced an exclusive report documenting “indignities to girl freedom demonstrators in Southern prisons.” Height revealed that the leaders of 24 women’s groups had met a month earlier to hear firsthand accounts of “brutality and sexual abuse”. -
Arrest of Fannie Lou Hamer and SNCC Volunteers
Winona, Mississippi: Hamer and other female volunteers (16 yr old June Johnson Annelle Ponder) were arrested for attempting to desegregate the bus terminal's lunch counter. They were beat and sexually assaulted once they arrived to the jail. Lawrence Guyot came to ask about the women's status and was also arrested, beaten and sexually tortured. Hamer spoke about her experience and helped convince Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson used power of federal government to protect civil rights. -
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Freedom Summer
MS: “the most violent since Reconstruction.” In addition to the Philadelphia, Mississippi murders, there were at least 3 other homicides that summer. Also, organizers reported more than 35 shootings 65 cases of arson at homes movement offices. KKK allies burned 35 black churches to the ground; while police arrested 1,000 movement people and 80 activists suffered beatings. These numbers do not account for subtle forms of personal abuse sexual attacks that often went unreported. -
Philadelphia Mississippi Murders of 1964
3 civil rights activists, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in Neshoba County, Mississippi. They were investigating the burning of Mt. Zion Methodist Church, a site of a CORE Freedom School. The men were arrested for speeding and released. Local law enforcement and members of the Ku Klux Klan followed, abducted, shot, and buried the men in an earthen dam. Their bodies were found on August 4, 1964 -
Murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson
Marion, AL: Local activists planned a night march starting @ Zion's Chapel Methodist Church. State troopers racist county sheriff James Clark waited for them to exit the church to beat the protestors. They chased some into nearby Mack's cafe, flipped tables beat customers. Jimmie saw some cops beating his mom tried to step b/w. He was shot 2x in his stomach and died 8 days later. -
"Bloody Sunday"
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) planned a march from Selma to Montgomery to force federal action by focusing media attention on Selma the acts of brutality committed by sheriff Clark and his Klansmen. Response to murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson. Gov. Wallace ordered state troopers local police to prevent march. They waited at Edmund Pettus Bridge and attacked marchers. ABC news televised scenes of the attack nationally. -
SCLC March From Selma to Montgomery
2nd attempt at a march, this time done w/ federal protection. Now in response to both the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson AND brutality experienced on "Bloody Sunday". -
Murder of Viola Fauver Gregg Liuzzo
Selma, AL: White housewife mother of 5 from Detroit, a civil rights movement supporter who was killed in hail of gunfire by 4 KKK members as she was ferrying Leroy Moton (Black) in her car. They believed they had killed them both. Detractors accused her of being with Black men. Posthumously she was referred to as a "White Nigger". -
Bloody Sunday
Selma, AL: Inspired by Jackson's death, the 1st march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery. Participants were turned back at Edmond Pettus bridge by police and state troopers attacking them with clubs and tear gas. -
Rape of Rosa Lee Coates
Hattiesburg, MS: Norman Cannon picks 15 yr old Rosa up from her grandmother's house under the pretense to babysit for him and his wife. He drives her out of town and rapes her at knifepoint then abandons her. Rosa identifies him in a line-up. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law making it illegal to racially discriminate in voting. -
Civil Rights Act of 1965
Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to uphold the 15th amendment. Occurred after the 3rd Freedom March. -
Watts Race Riots
Los Angeles, CA: 5 days of riots due to racial tension and economic instability that wasn't only present in the South but in rural areas all over America, even in the North West which were considered "the promised land". -
Norman Cannon's Sentencing for Rape of Rosa Lee Coate
Hattiesburg, MS: Cannon receives a guilty verdict with mercy and receives a life sentence in prison -
Supreme Court Decision: Loving v Virginia
Banned laws prohibiting interracial marriages -
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Memphis, TN: James Earl Ray shot King while King was standing on a balcony of Lorraine hotel. -
Oxford Riot
Oxford, NC: African Americans torch the town's tobacco warehouses after 3 White men (Larry Robert Teel, Roger Oakley) brutally murdered African American soldier Henry Dortress "Dickie" Morrow Jr. for allegedly talking fresh to Larry Teel's wife. They shot him on 5/11/70, he died on the way to Duke hospital on 5/12/70 and the riot occurred the next day causing an estimated $1 million in damages. -
The Wilmington Ten - Wilmington, NC
Group wrongly convicted for arson conspiracy during school integration protests. Violence erupted as members of militant white supremacist groups, such as the KKK the Rights of White People, clashed with students.
Benjamin Chavis: 24yr old minister/civil rights activist, Connie Tindall: 21yr old wm, Marvin "Chili" Patrick: 19yr old m, Wayne Moore: 19yr old m, Reginald Epps: 18yr old m, James McKoy (m), Willie Vereen (m), Jerry Jacobs (m), Joe Wright (m), and Ann Shepherd (wm). -
NOW Rape Task Force
National Organization of Women form the NOW Rape Task Force to investigate rape laws around the country. Also sets up Rape Crisis Centers and hotlines across the country; NOW begins campaigns to redefine rape as a crime of violence. -
Supreme Court Decision: Roe v Wade
Women have the power to choose about their reproductive choices, ban on abortion is unconstitutional. -
Joan Little Murders Jailer
Washington, NC: 20 yr old Black inmate killed her 62 yr old White jailer, Clarence Alligood, with an ice pick he brought into the cell to coerce her into performing sexual acts. Jury acquits her after 73 minutes of deliberation on August 15, 1975. -
Supreme Court Decision: Roe v Wade Overturned
Ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe v Wade. Allows states to create their own abortion bans. Ruling is based on the idea that the right to abortion was not "deeply rooted in this Nation's history or tradition".