Selections from the Equal Justice Initiative History of Racial Injustice calendar. I’ve chosen historical items from after 1900.
From the month of May
May 7, 1955
In Belzoni, Mississippi NAACP member Rev. George Lee is fatally shot after angering local white people by attempting to register to vote.
May 8, 2009
Members of the Ku Klux Klan burn a cross in an African American neighborhood in Ozark, Alabama, to intimidate Black residents. (One of the people convicted of this crime broke his parole.)
May 15, 1916 - note - multiple trigger warnings on this history
Mob of 15,000 burns alive African American teenager Jesse Washington in Waco, Texas.
May 18, 1980
After four Miami police officers are acquitted in brutal beating death of Arthur McDuffie, violent protests erupt, leaving 23 dead and hundreds injured. Here is a long article from 1980 (which I admit I have not read all of) about this incident, which seems horrifyingly familiar in today's news stories.
May 24, 2013
Federal judge rules Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, illegally targeted Latinos during raids and traffic stops based on their race
2009 article: (ACLU) Lawsuit Charging Sheriff Arpaio Illegally Targeted Latinos In Maricopa County Can Go Forward
2011 article: U.S. Finds Pervasive Bias Against Latinos by Arizona Sheriff
2016 article: Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Accused of Targeting Latinos, Is Charged With Contempt
2017 article: What you need to know about former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio’s record on illegal immigration
2017 article: Trump pardons Arpaio
May 25, 2020
A white Minneapolis police officer kills George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by pinning his neck to the ground and choking him, sparking global protests against police brutality.
1 comment:
It's equally shocking to me that these events occurred and that I knew of almost none of them.
Anyone arguing that racism isn't part of our history hasn't looked at it very closely.
Thank you for posting the lessons here.
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