African-American veterans lynched after World War I

When they returned home from World War I, African-American veterans faced heavy discrimination. This article focuses on those African American veterans who were lynched after World War I.

Soldiers of the 369th (15th N.Y.) who won the Croix de guerre for gallantry in action, 1919
Colonel Hayward's "Hell Fighters" in parade
Black veteran L. B. Reed was suspected of having a relationship with a white woman and hanged over the Sunflower River Bridge, Clarksdale, Mississippi

Background

World War I
See also: Military history of African Americans

World War I ended with the signing of the Armistice of November 11, 1918. Though the fighting stopped, the war's potential to resume still existed and peace was only reached when representatives of Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The United States entered the war after it had been raging for years. When it did send men to the fronts of Europe, the United States Armed Forces remained segregated, with all-black and all-white units. Despite the segregation, many African Americans still volunteered to join the Allied war effort. By the time of the armistice with Germany, more than 350,000 African Americans had joined the military to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front.[1]

Reaction to returning veterans

During a homecoming celebration for African-American veterans of World War I in Norfolk, Virginia a race riot broke out on July 21, 1919. At least two people were killed and three others were injured. City officials had to call in the Marines and Navy personnel to restore order.

On August 16, 1917, Senator James K. Vardaman of Mississippi spoke of his fear of black veterans returning to the South, as he viewed that it would "inevitably lead to disaster."[2] To the American South, the use of black soldiers in the military was a threat, not a virtue. "Impress the negro with the fact that he is defending the flag, inflate his untutored soul with military airs, teach him that it is his duty to keep the emblem of the Nation flying triumphantly in the air," and, the senator cautioned, "it is but a short step to the conclusion that his political rights must be respected."[2]

Often violence broke out between serving members of the military. In both the Bisbee Riot (July 3, 1919) and the New London riots of 1919 active African-American service members were attacked by white mobs or white military units.

Many black soldiers in the years after the war were threatened with violence if they were caught wearing their uniform.[2] Many others were even physically attacked, sometimes barely escaping with their lives. During an April 5, 1919, market day in Sylvester, Georgia, black veteran Daniel Mack was walking through a busy street and brushed against a white man. The white man was offended that Mack did not show the proper amount of respect and the two got in a scuffle; police came on the scene and promptly arrested Mack for assault. He was sentenced to 30 days in prison. A few days into his sentence, on April 14, a white mob broke into the prison, took him out into the wilderness and lynched Mack; he survived by playing dead.[3] No arrests were ever made.[4] Elisha Harper, 25 years old, was the son of the Rev. T. F. Harper, a respectable and "well-behaved preacher" living in Helena.[5] He fought in the army during World War I and just returned from Europe. On July 24, 1919, while walking the streets of Newberry, South Carolina, he allegedly insulted a 14-year-old girl, who promptly reported him to the authorities. Harper was arrested and thrown in jail. Soon a white mob had gathered and would have lynched Harper if it was not for the local Sheriff who hid him away.[6]

Lynched African-American veterans

The following is an incomplete list of African Americans who had served in the military during WWI and were killed by white mobs with no trials for alleged crimes.

Name City County or parish State Date Accusation Lynching Ref
Unknown Pine Bluff Jefferson Arkansas Insult of white woman – refused to move off a sidewalk for a white woman Tied to a tree with tire chains, and shot as many as 50 times [2]
Private Charles Lewis Tyler Station (near Hickman) Fulton Kentucky December 16, 1918 Alleged robbery Masked men stormed the jail, smashed the locks with a sledgehammer, and hanged him from a tree [2] [7]
Black vet and a black woman Pickens Holmes Mississippi May 5, 1919 Insult of white woman – black woman wrote an "improper note" to a young white woman [2]
Sgt. Maj. John Green Birmingham
 Jefferson Alabama June 12, 1919 Asking for change from a conductor aboard a segregated outbound Pratt-Endsley streetcar to Dozier Park Shot three times in the head [8]
Robert Truett Louise Humphreys Mississippi July 15, 1919 Insult of white woman – alleged indecent proposal to a white woman Hanged Robert Truett, a veteran who was 18 years old [2] [9]
Clinton Briggs Lincoln Washington Arkansas August 3, 1919 Insult of white woman – moved too slowly out of white woman's way Chained to a tree, shot till dead [2] [10]
L. B. Reed Clarksdale Coahoma Mississippi September 10, 1919 Suspected of having a relationship with a white woman Hanged from the bridge across the Sunflower River [2] [11]
Robert Crosky Montgomery Montgomery Alabama September 29, 1919 Alleged assault of a white woman Shot by a mob [12]
Miles Phifer Montgomery Montgomery Alabama September 29, 1919 Alleged assault of a white woman Shot by a mob [12]
Frank Livingston El Dorado Union Arkansas May 21, 1919 Alleged murder 100 people gathered to burn Mr. Livingston alive [2] [13]
Bud Johnson Pace Santa Rosa Florida March 12, 1919 Alleged assault of a white woman Chained to a stake, burnt alive his skull was split with a hatchet and pieces given to onlookers as souvenirs [2] [14]
Lucius McCarty Bogalusa Washington Louisiana August 31, 1919 Alleged attempted assault of a white woman Mob dragged his body behind a car killing him before burning his corpse in a bonfire [2] [11]
Powell Green Franklin North Carolina December 27, 1919 Allegedly shot R. M. Brown, the white owner of a movie theater in Franklinton Rope tied around neck, dragged for 2 miles (3.2 km) behind an automobile, then hanged from a pine sapling [2] [15]
Herman Arthur Paris Lamar Texas July 6, 1920 Alleged fatal shootout with sharecropper landlord and son over a dispute Herman and his little brother, Ervie, tied to a stake and burnt alive [16] [17] [18] [19]
Wilbur Little Blakely Early Georgia Spring 1919 Refusal to remove military uniform Beaten to death in uniform by a mob [20]
Leroy Johnston Helena Phillips Arkansas October 1, 1919 Was killed by a mob during the Elaine massacre, after the mob claimed they fired first. He, along with his three brothers, were pulled off a train by a group of white men. All were shot several times and killed during a scuffle. Leroy was a bugler in the Harlem Hellfighters. [21]

Aftermath
Main article: Red Summer

These lynchings were among several incidents of civil unrest that are now known as the American Red Summer of 1919. Attacks on black communities and white oppression spread to more than three dozen cities and counties. In most cases, white mobs attacked African American neighborhoods. In some cases, black community groups resisted the attacks, especially in Chicago and Washington, D.C. Most deaths occurred in rural areas during events like the Elaine massacre in Arkansas, where an estimated 100 to 240 blacks and 5 whites were killed. Other major events of Red Summer were the Chicago race riot and Washington D.C. race riot, which caused 38 and 39 deaths, respectively. Both riots had many more non-fatal injuries and extensive property damage reaching up into the millions of dollars.[22]


Similar racial violence and lynchings occurred again after african-american troops returned from service in WW2.[23]

See also

Bibliography

Notes

  1. Gilmore 2007
  2. Equal Justice Initiative 2019.
  3. James 2013, p. 79.
  4. The Chicago Defender, May 10, 1919.
  5. The Bamberg Herald 1919, p. 1.
  6. The Herald and News 1919, p. 1.
  7. Williams 2010, pp. 223–234.
  8. Phoenix Tribune, July 12, 1919, p. 1.
  9. Clark 2016.
  10. Griffith 2018.
  11. Whitaker 2009, p. 54.
  12. Associated Press 1919, p. 1.
  13. Griffith 2014.
  14. Stevenson 2017.
  15. The News Scimitar, December 29, 1919, p. 1.
  16. "Veterans Administration Master Index" (re: "Coggins").
  17. "Texas, World War I Records".
  18. "Lists of Incoming Passengers," "Herman Arthur," 1919.
  19. New York Age, September 4, 1920, front page.
  20. The Chicago Defender, April 5, 1919, p. 1.
  21. Williams 2010, pp. 235.
  22. New York Times, October 5, 1919.
  23. "Fighting together in Korea". BBC World Service. Retrieved 29 October 2020. The Documentary Podcast How the Korean War forced the US military to desegregate.

References

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