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Liberty Road Detour: No Freedom Ahead
Slaves thought they were on the road to freedom, but Black Codes and Jim Crow laws, which remained active until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, created circumstances similar to slavery. Southern democrats with the help of white supremacist groups used intimidation and violence to return the south to antebellum society and northerns did not want the employment competition or political change as blacks migrated north. The animosity led to race riots across the country for decades. -
"Day of Jubelo"
The elation of the freed slaves at the end of the Civil War was captured in the illustration titled "Day of Jubelo". The party was in full swing at the plantation house. They danced to the tunes of the banjo player. Children slid down the banister and danced. One gentleman drank from what appears to be a moonshine jug and even the cat joined in the celebration. This was a joyous day.
(Edmund Birckhead Bensell, 1865)
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2010647792/ Retrieved June 19, 2017. -
Memphis Massacre
Alfred R. Waud illustrated the burning of the Freedmen's schoolhouse during the Memphis Massacre. The white men cheered and some held shotguns as the school burns and in the distance a man ran from the school. The tension between Black Army soldiers and Irish police was the instigating factor.
(Patrick Young, Esq. June 2, 2015)
https://longislandwins.com/columns/immigrants-civil-war/carl-schurz-warned-that-a-system-of-terrorism-was-taking-hold-in-the-post-war-south-in-1865/ -
Colfax Massacre
In 1873 Charles Harvey Weigall illustrates the Colfax Massacre that occurred in 1872 at Colfax courthouse in Louisiana due to Democrats not approving of the gubernatorial election . His focus is black tending to the wounded as a child looks at the dead man. In the background an instigator is pointing a gun at survivors and two are on horses watching.
(Michael Stolp-Smith, contributor)
https://cnx.org/contents/p7ovuIkl@3.37:oL9PqrP4@3/The-Collapse-of-Reconstruction. Retrieved on June 19, 2017. -
Freedom to Vote
This is a common scene during Reconstruction. This illustration shows two Democratic white men holding a gun on a colored man with a voting ticket in his hand. The first line reads, "OF COURSE HE WANTS TO VOTE THE DEMOCRATIC TICKET", and the second line reads "You're as free as air, ain't you? Say you are, or I'll blow yer black head off". Intimidation was used often at the voting booth in an attempt to return Democratic Control.
http://tennsos.org/TSLA/aale/jimCrow.htm Retrieved June 21, 2107 -
Wilmington Race Riot
The photograph taken in1898 in Wilmington, NC shows a group of white supremacist standing in front of the burned newspaper building. Alex Manly wrote an editorial for the black newspaper, the "Daily Record", addressing a speech that supported lynching as a method to protect the white women's virtue. Alfred Waddell used the editorial to incite protest of African American's in government and vowed to keep them from the polls.
https://zinnedproject.org/2014/11/wilmington-massacre-2/ -
Wilmington Riot Described in "The Virginia Planet"
The Virginia Planet reports the Wilmington, NC Riot with the headline "HORRIBLE BUTCHERIES AT WILMINGTON" with the subtitle, "Innocent and Unarmed Colored Men Shot Down" and "Hundreds Run to the Woods". The charge of black men raping white women was often used when the relationship was consensual per Manly's editorial that incited anger among the white men, which led to the attack.
(Anne McCrery, 11-15-2015)
http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/fit-to-print/tag/newspapers/ -
Springfield Race Riot
The photograph shows white men in the burned black area of Springfield, IL. Two black men were jailed for assault against white women. The sheriff had a business man take them to of town for their safety. Whites became enraged when the prisoners were not at the jail and destroyed the local business owner's establishment and burned the the Levee and Badlands.
(Sangamon Country Historical Society, Oct. 12, 2013) http://sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/RaceRiot_1.jpg -
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
A journalist, William English Walling called for an organization to protect African American Civil Rights following the Springfield Riot. Mary White Ovington answered the call and began to reach out to both white and black supporters who worked together to improve the relationship between whites and blacks. Just as labor unions, the voice of many in unison may better influence positive change.
http://www.naacpmemphis.org/history.php -
St. Louis Riot
The entire front page of the St. Louis Argus covered the racial riot that rocked the city St. Louis on July 6, 1917. "Mob Commits Most Atrocious Crimes on Innocent Negroes, While Police and Militiamen Look On With Apathy" is listed under the main heading. The other articles included "Roosevelt Urges Fearless Probe Into Riot Case" and "Lawyer Warns Chicago Negroes to Arm Selves".
https://archive.org/stream/St.LouisArgusJuly61917_309/July61917#page/n0/mode/2up -
Silent Parade in protest of the St. Louis Riot
A silent parade in protest of the St. Louis riot organized by the NAACP and occurred in New York City was captured in this photograph. The sign reads, "Race Prejudice is the Offspring of Ignorance and the Mother of LYNCHING". The NAACP looked for peaceful avenues to enact change with the use of techniques used by other oppressed groups of the era.
(Jerry Mitchell, July 28, 2015) http://www.clarionledger.com/story/journeytojustice/2015/07/28/civil-rights-history-august-3/30780789/ -
"Black Wall Street" after the Tulsa, OK Riots
The photograph shows three men surveying the the black business district in Tulsa, OK, known as "Black Wall Street" due to the prosperity of the community. On May 31 a young black man was accused of assault on a young white female in an elevator and a white mob set out for justice. Before it was over the entire business district and the residential are were burned.
(Tulsa Historical Society & Museum)
http://tulsahistory.org/learn/online-exhibits/the-tulsa-race-riot/ -
"Runing the Negro out of Tulsa"
The Greenwood District, an all black neighborhood in Tulsa, is shown burning in the photograph. The sky filled with black smoke as white mobs first burned the business district then moved to the residential area, which left thousands homeless, injured or dead. A request was made to Governor Robertson for National Guard assistance to restore order and help douse the flames.
(Linda Christensen, May 28, 2013)
https://zinnedproject.org/2013/05/burning-tulsa-the-legacy-of-black-dispossession/
