Black History Month 2025
1900 1901-1909 1910
25 William McKinley | 26 Theodore Roosevelt | 27 William H. Taft
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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Black People Denied the Vote
Washington, D. C. - The United States Supreme Court decided States had the power to stop Black Americans from voting.
In the case, Giles v. Harris, Alabama law blocked Black Americans from voter registration. Alabama made a new constitution that required tests to be registered to vote.
The tests were given only by whites. The tests blocked all Black Americans. Jackson W. Giles was a Black American man who wanted to vote. He joined 5,000 other Black Americans who wanted the same. Giles sued in court.
The Federal District Court dismissed the case on procedure. The amount of damages was too small. The case was appealed. It reached the United States Supreme Court. The Court held the law was legal.
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Atlanta Race Massacre
Atlanta, Georgia - White mobs with white police attacked Black Americans for three (3) days. Whites feared competition from Black Americans, who came to the city to work. White fears were inflamed by the recent print of the Clansman, the previous year.
Black people were pulled from streetcars. They were beaten, stabbed, and punched. Whites rode through Black Americans areas and randomly shot into buildings. At least 24 Black Americans died. Only two whites died and one was from a heart attack. The other was from another white.
The news of the violence spread across the ocean. In France, it was reported that whites lynched Black Americans. The London Telegraph read that whites started anti-Black Americans riots.
No whites were punished for their violence against Black Americans. It took years to recover from the damage to Black American businesses, homes, and lost property, caused by the white mobs.
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Springfield Race Riot of 1908
Springfield, Illinois - Thousands of local and immigrant whites attacked and killed Black Americans. The violence lasted 2 days and was only stopped with the state militia.
Two (2) Black American men were accused of attempted rape of two white women. Word spread and a mob formed to lynch the Black American men. When the white mob learned the men had been transferred out of the city, the violence began. Whites killed random Black Americans, burned homes, destroyed businesses and private property. The white mob attacked any who sympathized with Black Americans.
This event helped start a movement for civil rights groups in the United States.
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The Only Supreme Court Trial in United States History
Washington, D. C. - The only trial in United States Supreme Court history ended. The verdict was guilty for all tried. Sheriff Shipp, Luther Williams, and Nick Nolan were sentenced to ninety days in jail for the lynching (death) of Ed Johnson, a Black American man. They were jailed in Washington, D. C.
After they served their sentence, the three (3) white males were greeted with a mob of 10-15,000 fans, in Tennessee.
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