Black History Month 2024
1912 1913-1921 1922
27 William H. Taft | 28 Woodrow Wilson | 29 Warren G. Harding
Redemption Jim Crow Black Power
Jim Crow
United States - The system of legal racial segregation lasted until 1965. In theory, non-whites were to have the same access and services as whites. In law and in practice, whites gave themselves prvileges over non-whites in every area of public life. Black Americans were harmed the most, since they were the direct target of Jim Crow laws.
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John Henrik Clarke Born
Union Springs, Alabama - John Henrik Clarke was born, on this day. His father was a sharecropper. His mother was a domestic worker.
Clarke pioneered American study of Black Nationalism and Africana studies. For this, Clarke was called 'The Master Teacher' for his scholarly lectures. An unmatched knowledge of the historical record of Black Americans, gained Clarke respect around the world.
In many lectures, Clarke rejected anti-Black racist propaganda. Much of this was taught in United States schools as fact. Instead, Clarke taught true and factual accounts, of American and African history.
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Birth of A Nation Premiered
New York, New York - Birth of A Nation was shown, for the first time. It was also called the Clansman, from the 1905 book, and play, of the same name. It was about the Ku Klx Klan (KKK).
The movie was a fiction of the birth of the Ku Klux Klan. It was an all-white film. To present Black Americans, white actors appeared in blackface. Black people were shown as the bad guys. The KKK were shown as the heroes, to protect white society.
It was the first film shown inside the White House. The sitting President, Woodrow Wilson, invited his family, and his Cabinet to watch it. Wilson said, 'It is like writing history with lightning.'
The Enforcement Acts, of the early 1870s, reduced the KKK to almost nothing. It had been more than 40 years since the KKK was at its height, when the movie was released. When the film was shown for the first time, the KKK had almost no public presence. After the film, there was a massive increase in KKK activity. It lasted for decades, until World War 2 (1940s).
In 1870, a federal grand jury said the KKK was a terrorist group. With the release of this film, the KKK was reborn.
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Newberry Lynchings
Newberry, Florida - Whites killed six Black Americans. Four (4) men and two (2) women died, with one pregnant. They were all lynched. The men were Andrew McHenry, Bert Dennis, and John Haskins. The women were Mary Dennis (pregnant) and Stella Young.
It all began because white men accused a Black American man of stealing hogs. None of the lynched were the man accused.
None of the whites were punished for the killings.
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Planned Parenthood Started
Brooklyn, New York - Planned Parenthood was founded. Margaret Sanger, her sister Ethel Byrne, and Fania Mindell were its founders. The goal was to reduce births and family sizes of those they deemed unfit. It began as the Negro Project.
Sanger was a eugenicist. The Eugenics Society was founded in 1907. Eugenics was an attempt at a formal, scientific racism. It promoted the birth of superior races over the inferior. Black Americans were legally decided to be an inferior race, at that time.
From its start, Planned Parenthood made Black American women its focus. It has worked for many decades to reduce the number of Black Americans. Abortion of Black American babies has always been its number one goal. It has never made healthy Black American babies or mothers a serious goal.
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Elaine Arkansas Massacre
Elaine, Arkansas - 500-1000 white males murdered dozens of Black Americans. It all started because Black American farmers wanted to work together for a better life.
On September 30, 1919, sharecroppers met to create a union. They met at a church to get better prices for their crops. To keep white plantation owners from the meeting, armed Black American guards waited outside. In Elaine, there were ten (10) Black Americans to every 1 white.
It is unclear what began the trouble at the church. There was gunfire and a white security guard was dead. The guard worked for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad. A white deputy sheriff was injured.
On October 1st, the Phillips County Sheriff formed a posse. He told Governor Brough there was an insurrection in Elaine. The Governor sent word to the Secretary of War. Soldiers were on their way to Elaine.
As troops made their way to Elaine, hundreds of whites came to the town. They were from other counties and the next State. Whites killed Black Americans with no restraint, and injured hundreds more.
On October 2nd, 500 soldiers arrived in the morning and the massacre ended.
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Tulsa Race Riot Began
Tulsa, Oklahoma - Two days of murder, riots, and chaos began in Tulsa. At the time, only 49 were counted as dead. 36 were Black Americans and 13 were white. Actual deaths range from 75-300. It all began because of a rumor.
Monday, May 30, 1921, two teenagers worked at a store in the Drexel building. Dick Rowland was a 19 year-old, Black American male. He worked on boots. Sarah Page was a 17 year-old, white female. She was an elevator operator.
The two were touching each other in the elevator. A white man saw the two. Page screamed.
On May 31, 1921, Rowland was arrested at his home. He was charged with attempted rape. By 7:34 p.m., rumors had spread through the white community. It was started by white lawyers and newspapers. This included the Tulsa Tribune.
As rumors spread, hundreds of whites came to the courthouse. They were there to lynch (murder) Rowland. The white sheriff Willard M. McCullough was in charge of the case.
McCullough blocked the courthouse doors. He was inside with twenty-five (25) other police. They were on the top floor of the courthouse.
By 9:00 p.m., about 100 Black Americans came to the courthouse. They were armed. Many were former World War 1 veterans. Some were dressed in military uniform. McCullough told them all was under control.
By 10:00 p.m., the armed Black American men returned. By this time, there were thousands of whites at the courthouse. Unarmed whites looted nearby gun stores, pawn shops, and sporting goods stores. The whites stole guns and ammunition.
The white mob shouted 'bring the rope.' Racial slurs were hurled at the Black American men. The whites wanted to murder all the Black American men at the courthouse. The race riot was under way.
After many deaths, Rowland was never tried for a crime. He was not harmed in the riot.
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First Aerial Bombing
Tulsa, Oklahoma - Whites made airstrikes against Black Americans. This was the second day of The Tulsa Race Riots.
Early Wednesday morning, whites flew airplanes over the Greenwood District of Tulsa. From the air, whites shot rifles and made aerial bombing runs against Black Americans.
The bombs landed on buildings and homes. The bombers aimed at fleeing families. The aircraft was privately owned. Police participated. The police claimed it was to prevent a 'Negro uprising' in the town.
One witness made this report. There were 'a dozen or more' planes. They circled the neighborhood. The planes dropped 'burning turpentine balls' on an office building, a hotel, a filling station and other buildings. Shots were fired at Black Americans. They were gunned down in the street.
This was the first aerial bombing in the United States.
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