Another View of Progress

2

About Us We are a group of Berea College students in Dr. Bobby Ann Starnes’ African American Studies

class – AFR 186 Educational Inequity: The Impact of Eugenics on Education Today.

As part of our study, we explored the connection between educational inequity, eugenics, and

American history textbooks’ content. We found these textbooks tell the stories of the white middle class

and wealthy and omit the history and contribution of people from poverty and minority groups.

In our study, we found very few students in the class know about their history and ancestors,

especially the African American students. That has led us to engage in deep study of those omitted from

history textbooks, which in turn led us to question ourselves, who we are, and where we come from.

This booklet is a work within a larger project called “Filling in the Gaps.” It was created and

developed based on the ideas and hard work of these students:

Editors

Anna Loveless, Health & Human Performance ‘16

Anthony Myrks, Education Studies ‘17

Ngoc-Anh Cao, Education Studies ‘16

Contributors

Anna Loveless, Health & Human Performance ‘16

Anthony Myrks, Education Studies ‘17

April Fellows, Education Studies ‘19

Austin Lowe, Child and Family Studies ‘19

Iliana Lomeli, Elementary Education ‘16

Jaeden Chatham, Spanish ‘16

James Alexander, Child & Family Studies ‘16

Johnesha Warren, Education Studies ‘16

Shauna Abdulsamea, Elementary Education ‘16

Shawna Stoneking, History ‘19

Tre Ogletree, Psychology ‘19

Dominique Forest

We would like to thank our beloved professor, Bobby Starnes, for supporting us to actualize this idea.

And thank you, the people who read this booklet and help share it with other people.

AFR 186 – Educational Inequity Berea, Spring 2016

3

Another View of Progress

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams III Medical Pioneer

Daniel Hale Williams III was born January 18,

1856 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, where his

father, Daniel Hale Williams II, worked as a barber

and with the Equal Rights League, which was a

Black civil rights organization during

Reconstruction. His mother, Sarah Price Williams,

worked hard to raise Daniel Hale Williams III and

his siblings.

However, when the younger Williams was 10, his

father died and he was sent to live with his relatives

in Baltimore.

As a young man, he spent time as a shoemaker’s

apprentice and a barber, but disliked both. Instead,

he chose to pursue medicine, apprenticing under

Dr. Henry Palmer and then completed his formal

education at Chicago Medical College. (cont. pg. 2)

NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

The National Medical Association (NMA) is the

largest and oldest national organization representing

African American physicians and their patients in the

United States. The NMA is a national professional and

scientific organization representing the interests of more

than 30,000 African American physicians and the

patients they serve. It is committed to improving the

quality of health among minorities and disadvantaged

people through its membership, professional

development, community health education, advocacy,

research and partnerships with federal and private

agencies.

Throughout its history the NMA has focused

primarily on health issues related to African Americans

and medically underserved populations; however, its

principles, goals, initiatives and philosophy encompass

all ethnic groups.

The NMA was founded in 1895 by Dr. Daniel Hale

Williams III and eleven other African American doctors.

Due to segregation policies and the idea of “separate but

equal,” African American doctors were not permitted to

join organizations like the American Medical

Association (AMA), so, African American doctors

created their own organization (the NMA).

Questionable “Nadir” The Progressive Era (1890-1920) is often referred to as the “nadir,” or low point, of African

American History. We the authors, editors, and students in the class AFR 186 Educational Inequity

have found this to be untrue. Another View of Progress seeks to fill in the gaps that history

textbooks often leave out. We have found that many African Americans as well as other

underrepresented groups made numerous accomplishments during in this time frame. This

publication will highlight a myriad of people, events, and advances ranging from politics to

entertainment to technology.

As we gain knowledge, it is our duty to pass it on for others to discover. We hope to enlighten

and educate the readers through the sharing of a more accurate and holistic depiction of history.

This booklet was completed and compiled under the direction of professor Bobby Starnes, a long

time educator at Berea College.

4

MARY ELIZA MAHONEY

At the age of 33, Mahoney was

accepted into the nursing

school for the New England

Hospital for Women and

Children. She was the first

African American professional

nurse in U.S. (1879). After

graduation she registered as a

private duty nurse and helped to

raise nurses’ status. During her

life she was also one of the first

African American members of

the organization that would

become the American Nurses

Association and support the

fight for women’s right to vote.

DR. CHARLES RICHARD

DREW

Through hard work and

dedication, Dr. Charles R.

Drew developed a method for

processing and preserving

blood plasma, which kept

longer than whole blood. This

development led to his earning

of his doctoral degree from

Columbia University (he was

the first African-American to

do so). His development also

greatly assisted in the efforts of

WWII. He was also the first

Director of an American Red

Cross Blood Bank, a professor

at Howard University and the

Chief Surgeon at Freedmen’s

Hospital.

WILLIAM’S MEDICAL

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Dr. Williams III (cont. pg.1)

1883

Williams attended Chicago

Medical School (currently

Northwestern University Medical

School). He graduated in 1883.

May 4, 1891

On May 4, 1891 Daniel Hale

Williams established the Provident

Hospital and Training School

Association, a three story building

which held 12 beds and served

members of the community as a

whole. The school also served to

train Black nurses and utilized

doctors of all races.

Within its first year, 189 patients

were treated at Provident Hospital

and of those 141 saw a complete

recovery, 23 had recovered

significantly, three had seen

change in their condition and 22

had died. For a brand new

hospital, at that time, to see an

87% success rate was phenomenal

considering the financial and

health conditions of the patients,

and primitive conditions of most

hospitals. Much can be attributed

to Williams’s insistence on the

highest standards concerning

procedures and sanitary

conditions.

July 10, 1893

Dr. Williams operated on James

Cornish, a Chicagoan, who was

brought to Provident Hospital with

a severe stab wound to his chest.

When Cornish started to go into

shock, Williams suspected a

deeper wound near the heart. He

asked six doctors (four white, two

black) to observe while he

operated on Mr. Cornish. With the

heart beating and transfusion

impossible, Williams rinsed the

wound with salt solution, held the

edges of the palpitating wound

with forceps, and sewed them

together. Just 51 days after his

apparently fatal wound, James

Cornish walked out of the hospital.

He lived for over 20 years after the

surgery.

1894

In 1894 Williams moved to

Washington, D.C. where he was

appointed the chief surgeon of

Freedmen’s Hospital, which had

formerly served enslaved African

Americans. The facility had long

been neglected, but under

Williams’ supervision, surgical

procedures were improved. There

was an increase in specialization

and ambulance services were

launched.

1895

Although he recognized the value

of racial integration in the medical

field, Williams in 1895 co-founded

the National Medical Association

(NMA) because black medical

practitioners were denied

admission to the all-white

American Medical Association.

1913

Among the numerous honors and

awards bestowed on Williams,

perhaps the most groundbreaking

was his becoming, in 1913, the

first black member of the

American College of Surgeons.

5

Other Important

Figures

Garret Morgan

Garret Morgan was born on

March 4, 1877 as the seventh of

eleven children. Although he

only completed an elementary

school education, he was later

able to pay for private tutoring.

He worked several jobs at sewing

machine factories and found his

niche in being able to repair and

improve machines. He opened

his own business and received a

patent for a newer and more

improved sewing machine.

One day during work he saw a

piece of woolen fabric that, due

to its rough texture, had been

torn and scorched by the sewing

needle. Garret began to mix

different chemicals together that

would reduce tension on the

fabric and upon completion he

realized that the mixture had

softened the fabric. He tried the

concoction on his neighbor’s dog

and got the same results. After

successfully using it on himself

he began packaging and selling

his invention under his new

company G.A. Morgan Hair

Refining Company as a hair

softener. In 1914 Garret Morgan

began to work on a mask that

would stop inhalation of

pollutants and particles. Germany

had just begun to use gas as a

weapon of war and his invention

was right in time for WWI.

His invention was eventually

modified by the U.S. army and

used as a gas mask. His invention

also helped save men trapped

250ft beneath Lake Erie after an

explosion. Regardless of his

amazing work, people were

unhappy to have these inventions

come from a black man, so

Garret hired a white man to pose

as inventor of his products when

it was time to present them to

people. Garret would pose as his

assistant, successfully

demonstrating his own products

which were later picked up by

firefighters to rescue people.

As the first black man in

Cleveland, Ohio to own a car, he

began to work on his car by

inventing the friction drive

clutch. While driving one day, he

witnessed an accident that

happened due to the fact that

people didn’t know when to stop

their cars at busy intersections.

This was when he invented the

traffic light and later sold the

rights to general electric for

$40,000.

Aside from all of his great work,

Garret Morgan was also an active

participant in the NAACP who

donated to black colleges,

opened an all-black country club,

and founded the Cleveland

newspaper named the Call and

Post. He died on July 27, 1963 in

Cleveland, Ohio and was finally

recognized as the savior of the

men in the Lake Erie explosion.

Marcus Garvey

“A people without the

knowledge of their past history,

origin and culture is like a tree

without roots.”

Marcus Garvey

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., born

on August 17, 1887, in St. Ann's

Bay, Jamaica, was a self-

educated man who helped found

the Universal Negro

Improvement Association

(UNIA). UNIA was dedicated in

promoting African-Americans

and resettlement in Africa.

In 1916, Garvey visited the U.S.

to deliver a speech and to raise

funds for establishing a school in

6

Jamaica. It was this time when he

met several black leaders.

By 1919, Marcus Garvey and

UNIA had launched the Black

Star Line, a shipping company

that would establish trade and

commerce between Africans in

America, the Caribbean, South

and Central America, Canada

and Africa.

Some established black leaders

found his separatist philosophy

ill-conceived. W.E.B. Du Bois, a

prominent black leader and

officer of the N.A.A.C.P. called

Garvey "the most dangerous

enemy of the Negro race in

America." In 1922, Marcus

Garvey and three other UNIA

officials were charged with mail

fraud involving the Black Star

Line. Garvey was convicted and

sentenced to prison for five

years. In 1927 he was released

from prison and deported to

Jamaica. Garvey continued his

political activism and the work of

UNIA in Jamaica, and then

moved to London in 1935.

Bessie Coleman

Bessie Coleman was born on

January 26, 1892 in Atlanta,

Texas. She was one of 13

children. In 1915, at 23 years old,

Coleman moved to Chicago,

where she lived with her brothers

and worked as a manicurist. Not

long after her move to Chicago,

she began listening to and

reading stories of WWI pilots,

which sparked her interest in

aviation.

In 1922, a time of both gender

and racial discrimination,

Coleman broke barriers and

became the world’s first black

woman to earn a pilot’s license.

Flying schools in the United

States denied her entry, she took

it upon herself to learn French

and move to France to achieve

her goal. After only seven

months, Coleman earned her

license from the France’s well

known Caudron Brother’s School

of Aviation.

Although she wanted to start a

flying school for African

Americans when she returned to

the U.S., Coleman specialized in

stunt flying and parachuting, and

earned a living barnstorming and

performing aerial tricks. In 1922,

hers was the first public flight by

an African-American woman in

America. Tragically, on April 30,

1926, Coleman was killed in an

accident during a rehearsal for an

aerial show which sent her

plummeting to her death. She

was only 34 years old.

Marshall Walter

Taylor (aka Major)

Taylor was raised in

Indianapolis, Indiana in an

impoverished family. Taylor

became close to one of his

father’s employers’ children and

was later unofficially adopted

into the white family. Taylor

received a bike as a gift and

taught himself how to ride and do

tricks. Taylor was often seen

wearing a military uniform while

on his bike and was given the

nickname, Major.

Major started his professional

career at age 18. In the year

1898, at age 20, Major added 7

world records to his already

impressive cycling reputation.

Major’s athleticism took him

around the world. In the next

year, he was named both an

international and national world

champion cyclist. He competed

in various cities in the U.S., as

well as in Europe and Australia.

Despite his worldwide success

and champion status, Taylor

experienced intense racism,

especially in the U.S., throughout

his 14-year career. Taylor was

not even allowed to compete in

the American South because of

discrimination. During a race in

Boston, Massachusetts, another

7

cycler pushed Taylor off his bike

and choked him, rendering him

unconscious for 15 minutes. Due

to countless instances of racial

discrimination, Taylor retired at

age 32. Before he retired he was

one of the wealthiest athletes in

the world.

After his cycling career, Taylor

fell upon hard times. He

attempted to write and publish an

autobiography called The Fastest

Bicycle Rider in the World but

that was of no financial benefit.

Marshall Taylor died broke and

was initially buried in welfare

section of an Illinois cemetery

despite his achievements. His

body was exhumed in 1948 due

to the efforts of the Schwinn

Bicycle Company along with

other professional racers. His

body was then moved to a

different portion of the cemetery.

Major Taylor exemplifies the

struggle, success, and

empowerment of not only Black

people but also low income

individuals. He pursued his

dreams of cycling despite

physical and mental attacks for

his whole career. Although he

died penniless, he illustrates what

persistence can achieve.

Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson, (March 31, 1878,

Galveston, Texas – June 10,

1946, Raleigh, North Carolina),

was the first black boxer to win

the heavyweight championship

of the world. Johnson is

considered by many boxing

observers to be one of the

greatest heavyweights of all time.

He fought professionally from

1897 to 1928 and engaged in

exhibition matches as late as

1945. He won the title by

knocking out champion Tommy

Burns on Dec. 26, 1908, and lost

it on a knockout by Jess Willard

in 26 rounds in Havana on April

5, 1915. Until his fight with

Burns, racial discrimination had

limited Johnson’s opportunities

and purses. When he became

champion, a hue and cry for a

“Great White Hope” produced

numerous opponents.

At the height of his career, the

outspoken Johnson excoriated by

the press for his flashy lifestyle

and for having twice married

white women. He further

offended white supremacists in

1910 by knocking out former

champion James J. Jeffries, who

had been induced to come out of

retirement as the “Great White

Hope.” The Johnson-Jeffries

bout, which was billed as the

“Fight of the Century,” led to

nationwide celebrities by African

Americans that were

occasionally met by violence

from whites, resulting in more

than 20 deaths across the

country.

In connection with one of his

marriages, Johnson was

convicted in 1912 of violating

the Mann Act by transporting his

wife-to-be across state lines

before their marriage. He was

sentenced to a year in prison and

was released on bond, pending

appeal. Disguised as a member of

black baseball team, he fled to

Canada; he then made his way to

Europe and was a fugitive for

seven years.

He defended the championship

three times in Paris before

agreeing to fight Willard in

Cuba. Some observers thought

that Johnson, mistakenly

believing that the charge against

him would be dropped if he

yielded the championship to a

white man, deliberately lost to

Willard.

From 1897 to 1928, Johnson had

114 bouts, winning 80, and 45 by

knockouts. In 1920, Johnson

surrendered to U.S. marshals; he

then served his sentence, fighting

in several bouts within the

federal prison at Leavenworth,

Kan. After his release he fought

occasionally and performed in

vaudeville and carnival acts,

appearing finally with a trained

flea act. He died in an

automobile accident. In the years

after Johnson’s death, his

reputation was gradually

rehabilitated.

His criminal record came to be

regarded more as a product of

racially motivated acts than as a

reflection of actual wrongdoing,

and members of the U.S.

8

Congress have in a number of

occasions attempted to secure a

posthumous presidential pardon

for Johnson. His life story was

lightly fictionalized in the hit

play The Great White Hope

(1967; filmed 1970), and he was

the subject of Ken Burn’s

documentary film Unforgivable

Blackness (2004). Johnson was a

member of the inaugural class of

inductees to the International

Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

Mamie Smith

Actress and performing artist

Mamie Smith made music

history in 1920 when she stepped

into a studio to lay down “Crazy

Blues,” considered by industry

scholars to be the very first blues

recording. Smith was a

glamorous and multi-talented

entertainer, performing on stage

and in film. Her pioneering

musical career paved the way for

more successful female blues and

jazz artists like “Ma” Rainey,

Bessie Smith (no relation), and

Billie Holiday.

Although little is known about

her early years, scholars believe

that Smith was born Mamie

Robinson in Cincinnati, Ohio in

1883. By the age of 10 she was

working as a vaudeville

entertainer and touring with the

Four Dancing Mitchells.

Mamie Smith and the Jazz Hounds

She continued to tour with

various acts throughout her teens.

By 1913 at the age of 20 she was

living and working in Harlem

and soon after married William

“Smithy” Smith. She remarried

twice after her career took off.

In 1918 she was staring at the

Lincoln Theater in Made in

Harlem (referred to in some texts

as Maid of Harlem), a musical

revue produced by Perry

Bradford who also composed the

legendary “Crazy Blues” song.

Wishing to have some of his

songs recorded, Bradford

contacted and was rejected by a

number of studios until signing

an agreement with General

Phonograph.

In February of 1920 Bradford

brought Mamie Smith to the

company’s Okeh Studios in New

York to record “That Thing

Called Love” and “You Can’t

Keep a Good Man Down.” On

August 20, Smith and Bradford

returned to the studio with a

group of African American

musicians known as the Jazz

Hounds to record “It’s Right

Here for You” and “Crazy

Blues,” widely considered the

first blues song on record. It was

extremely successful,

purportedly selling 75,000 copies

within the first months of its

release.

The immediate popularity

prompted other recording

companies to sign on female

black blues singers to capture the

new “race records” market.

While “Crazy Blues” is cited as

the first blues recording, it also

represents the emergence of

black female singers into popular

music culture. The record was

purchased by black and white

consumers and was recognized as

a lucrative marketing segment by

studios and record company

executives.

Smith found herself suddenly

wealthy, and she spent much of

her earnings on clothes, jewelry,

real estate, and servants. She

toured with the Jazz Hounds,

recorded a number of follow-up

records, and performed in New

York theaters. She also appeared

in a series of low-budget African

American films during the early

1940s. Mamie Smith died in

Harlem in 1946.

9

Historical Events

Race War on Lonoke

County, Arkansas

(1897-1898)

There were two groups involved

in the Race War of Lonoke

County – a white group and a

black group. The black group

assembled to ensure safety from

KKK attacks while the white

group assembled to “catch

thieves.” These groups were

violent toward one another,

which resulted in a number of

deaths and even more injuries

that have not been concluded.

Violence toward blacks got

extremely out of hand and many

fled for their lives, while only a

few chose to stay and face the

racism.

African Americans leaving Lonoke

County with white males behind

ensuring that they leave.

As a result of these attacks,

Lonoke County established black

teacher school where whites and

black could not be taught

together and black teachers had

to be trained in special schools

based on race. These black

schools were often ransacked and

many teachers were abused just

because of their race.

After the violence against school

teachers, the white community

banded together to hopefully kick

out the rest of the black

community. Some torment

included stoning, burning of

houses, and even stealing food

from black homes. After

withstanding such hardship, one

man still felt that there was a way

for people to have peace. This

man was D.T. Watson.

D.T. Watson was a professor that

also served as an activist for a

way to peacefully resolve racism

in Lonoke County. Watson’s

actions ended up not working in

his favor - he was stoned and

killed in one of his classrooms.

His story has been unknown for

many people due to the fact that

his documents and manuscripts

were destroyed/buried as an act

of hate. His story, or what little

is known of it, shows a true

dedication to peace. Although

Watson was unable to really

make a difference in his

community, he was one man who

really acted against the norm and

tried to make a difference

without causing harm to anyone.

Wilmington

Insurrection of 1898

Racial tensions ran high after

Black republicans won the North

Carolina state elections of 1896.

White democrats were unwilling

to tolerate blacks maintaining

political power and vowed to win

the 1898 elections by any means

necessary.

They appealed to the fear of

whites in the state by making

claims that white women were in

danger from black males. While

democrats ended up winning the

elections, racial hostility in

Wilmington carried on.

The democrats staged a coup

d’état and drove black politicians

out of office, along with white

professionals rioting; killing

random black people on the

street. Twenty-five blacks were

reported dead, but the official

death toll is unknown as many

bodies are presumed to have

been dumped in the river.

The Niagara

Movement (1905)

The Niagara Movement was a

civil rights group organized by

W.E.B. DuBois and William

Monroe Trotter in 1905. After

being denied admittance to hotels

in Buffalo, New York, the group

of 29 who comprised the initial

meeting gathered at Niagara

Falls, from which the group’s

name derives. The principles

behind the Niagara Movement

were largely in opposition to

10

Booker T. Washington’s

principle of Accommodationism.

Founders of the Niagara Movement

Trotter publicly reprimanded

Washington at a Boston meeting

in 1903. In The Souls of Black

Folk (1903), DuBois had also

condemned Washington for his

lowered expectations for African

Americans. The Niagara

Movement drafted a “Declaration

of Principles,” part of which

stated, “We refuse to allow the

impression to remain that the

Negro-American assents to

inferiority, is submissive under

oppression and apologetic before

insults.” The Niagara Movement

attempted to bring about legal

changes, addressing the issues of

crime, economics, religion,

health, and education. The

Movement stood apart from other

black organizations at the time

because of its powerful,

unequivocal demand for equal

rights. The Niagara Movement

forcefully demanded equal

economic and educational

opportunity.

Members of the Niagara

movement sent a powerful

message to the entire country

through their condemnation of

racial discrimination and their

call for an end to segregation.

While the movement had grown

to include to 170 members in 34

states by 1906, it also

encountered difficulties. While

W.E.B. DuBois supported the

inclusion of women in the

Niagara Movement, William

Monroe Trotter did not. Trotter

left the movement in 1908 to

start his own group, the Negro-

American Political League.

The Niagara Movement met

annually until 1908. In that year

a major race riot broke out in

Springfield, Illinois. Black and

white activists, including

members of the Niagara

Movement, felt a new more

powerful, interracial organization

was now needed to combat

racism. Out of this concern the

National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People

(NAACP) was formed. The

Niagara Movement was

considered the precursor to the

NAACP and many of its

members, such as W.E.B.

DuBois, were among the new

organization’s founders.

The Great Migration

(1915)

Starting in 1915, Southern blacks

began leaving the south in order

to escape harsh levels of racism

and pursue job opportunities,

altering the racial makeup of

cities throughout the country.

Cities in the north and west saw

their black populations soar

during this time period.

A family in route to Northern

territories.

Jesse Washington

Lynching (1916)

Jesse Washington was a severely

mentally challenged 17-year-old

boy who was accused of raping

and murdering his employer’s

wife in Waco, Texas. As soon as

the jury of 12 white men found

him to be guilty in only 4

minutes, a mob threw a chain

around Jesse’s neck and drug

him down the back stairs of the

courthouse as the authorities

watched.

Outside, there was a mob of

between 15,000-20,000 people

waiting. They dragged Jesse

down to the town hall where they

had their lynching tree. The mob

set a fire underneath where Jesse

was hanging to burn him alive as

they continuously lowered him

down into the fire, but raised him

out so he could suffer longer in

order to please the crowd. Jesse

attempted to climb up the chain,

11

but the mob cut off all of his

fingers one by one so all he could

do was slapping the chain.

Postcard made about the lynching

of Jesse Washington that was being

to community members in the

surrounding area around 1916.

After two hours of lynching, the

mob put his body remains in bags

and took them to Robinson,

Texas, which was the hometown

of Lucy Fryer (the murder

victim) and a large African

American population. There, his

body hung on a utility pole until

the county took down his

remains and burned them.

The Silent Protest

Parade of 1917

Also known as the Negro Silent

Protest Parade, this protest came

after the East St. Louis riots. The

riots began after two white

policemen were killed on July 1st

in a ruckus caused by people

attacking the homes of African

Americans since they were used

to replace the white workers on a

strike. Many people, however,

believe that the murder of the

two policemen was just a rumor.

In the East St. Louis Riots, many

acts of violence were committed

towards blacks including burning

their homes, shooting them to

death, beating, and lynching.

During these riots, an estimated

nine whites and hundreds of

African Americans were killed,

hundreds more were injured, and

thousands of homes were burned.

The exact number has not yet

been concluded.

Nothing was done to prevent the

attacks and the NAACP protested

with a Silent March of 10,000

black men, women, and children

down New York’s Fifth Avenue.

The women and children dressed

in white and the men in black

suits, marched behind a row of

drummers carrying banners

calling for justice and equal

rights. The only sound was the

beat of muffled drums.

Thousands of Black people,

including young children, in the

Silent Protest Parade

Some of the mottoes on the

protest posters people carried

were: “Thou shalt not kill”;

“Thou shall not bear false

witness against thy neighbor”;

“We are maligned as lazy, and

murdered when we work”; and

“’We hold these truths to be self-

evident, that all men are created

equal, that they are endowed by

their Creator with certain

unalienable Rights, that among

these are Life, Liberty and the

pursuit of Happiness.’ If you are

of African descent tear off this

corner”.

The Anti-Lynching Bill

of 1918

The Anti-Lynching Bill of 1918

– also known as the Dyer Bill –

was proposed by Republican

Congressman Leonidas Dyer. It

was an act to assure to persons

within the jurisdiction of every

state the equal protection of the

laws, and to punish the crime of

lynching. The bill stated that

state officials who failed to

protect the rights of lynching

victims or prosecute the lynchers

could face five years in prison

and a $5,000 fine and that the

victim’s heirs could recover up to

$10,000 from the county where

the crime occurred.

Dyer and his supporters stated

that the validity of the bill was

found in the 14th Amendment

which stated that no state could

“deprive any person of life,

liberty, or property, without due

process of law; nor deny to any

person within its jurisdiction the

equal protection of the laws.”

Because lynching was considered

a private act outside the law, the

proponents argued that state

officials’ failure to uphold their

sworn duties denied victims

“equal protection of the laws”

under the 14th Amendment.

12

Republican Congressman Leonidas

Dyer. Representative of Missouri.

After a prolonged fight, the

House passed the bill on January

26, 1922, by a vote of 230 to

119, but a filibuster by Southern

Democrats defeated it in the

Senate. The Dyer Bill was

defeated two more times later in

the 1920s. Lynching was not

actually illegal until the late

1960s due to the Civil Rights

Act.

The 1919 Chicago

Race Riots

The imaginary beach line that

separated Whites and Blacks.

There was an invisible line that

separated the beach: The 25th

street beach was for the black

community and the 29th street

beach for the white. This line

was unseen and a law unwritten,

so basically it was an invisible

line that divided the beach of

Lake Michigan.

An African American teenager

named Eugene Williams was

swimming with his friends and

drifted onto the 29th street side

of the beach. Once the whites

found Eugene Williams

swimming on their side they

started to throw rocks at him and

he eventually drowned.

The white individuals who were

responsible for his death were

not arrested, which raised a great

deal of tension and fury in the

African American community in

Chicago. This event sparked a

wave of violent riots throughout

the city of Chicago.

For nearly two weeks, black

mobs attacked white mobs and

vice versa. There were a total of

38 people who died and 23 of

them were African Americans.

By the time the National Guard

brought an end to the riots more

than 500 people were injured or

wounded. An astonishing number

of 1,000 African American

families were left homeless due

to the destruction of their homes.

Black Wall Street Dies

(1921)

Black Wall Street in Tulsa,

Oklahoma was one of the most

affluent all-Black communities in

America. With the oil boom of

the early 1900’s, many people

moved to Tulsa for a shot at

quick economic gains and high

life. Many African Americans

hoped to prosper from the new

industry as well.

Tulsa, like many cities and towns

throughout the US, was

segregated, with African

Americans settling into the

northern region of the city.

A store front that was destroyed by

Whites in the riots.

On June 1, 1921, a night’s

slaughter left nearly 3,000

African Americans dead and over

600 successful businesses lost.

Among these were 21 churches,

21 restaurants, 30 grocery stores

and two movie theaters, plus a

hospital, a bank, a post office,

libraries, schools, law offices, a

half dozen private airplanes and

even a bus system. Responsible

for the destruction was the Ku

Klux Klan, working in groups

with ranking city officials and

many other followers.

13

Literary Works

A Voice from the South (1892)

A Voice from the South was written by Anna Julia

Cooper, a biracial feminist and educator, in 1892.

It is a significant literary work because Cooper

focuses mainly on publicizing the voices of

women, especially those of color in a society that

did not respect the rights, voices, and opinions of

women.

Cooper emphasized the need for equal treatment,

not only among races but also sexes. Cooper

constantly sought to uplift Black women and

found the best way to do that through the

attainment of higher education. She held this in

great importance, not only for herself but the

female Black community. A Voice from the South

is only one of many of Anna Julia Cooper’s

pieces. Cooper’s writings are so profound that

they are currently archived at Howard University.

If We Must Die (1919)

- Claude McKay

If we must die, let it not be like hogs

Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,

While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,

Making their mock at our accursed lot.

If we must die, O let us nobly die,

So that our precious blood may not be shed

In vain; then even the monsters we defy

Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!

O kinsmen! We must meet the common foe!

Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,

And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!

What though before us lies the open grave?

Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,

Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!