Black History

The Enemy at Home Black Soldiers Fought After WWI

Published

7 years ago

May 27, 2018

The summer of 1919 was an extraordinarily bloody period of racial violence in American history, so much so that black author and activist, James Weldon Johnson referred to the era as the “Red Summer.” The tensions spawned race riots and lynchings throughout the summer and early fall in over 30 American cities.

These incidents not only occurred in the segregated South but in northern cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City. Large numbers of blacks were attacked all over the country; however, the largest number of blacks were killed in the Elaine race riots in Elaine, Arkansas. It has been estimated that over 250 people were killed before order was reestablished.

Historians attribute the red summer to several factors including post World War I social tensions and competition for jobs and housing among both black and white veterans returning from Europe.

Social tensions arose in America as returning black veterans wanted to maintain the level of freedom they experienced in Europe. The Chicago Daily News reported one returning black veteran said, “[We are] now men and world men, if you please; and the possibilities for completion of what we have awakened to.” Black veterans’ eyes were opened to the possibility of full citizenship.

Upon returning to America, some black veterans resisted the social norms of America. They wanted to hold on to the freedoms they experienced in Europe, the freedoms they felt they earned by fighting in the war. This new sense of manhood directly conflicted with the way of life in America. That conflict precipitated the Red Summer.

One of the lesser known disturbances of that summer occurred in a small southeastern Arkansas town called Star City. Star City is in Lincoln County, about 25 miles from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Clinton Briggs, the son of Sandy and Catherine Briggs, was born in 1892. In 1917, he registered for the draft and served in Europe until he was discharged a year later. Briggs served honorably during his tenure. He was awarded the Victory Medal and the Victory Lapel Button. He returned to Star City in December of 1918.

Clinton Briggs was lynched on September 1, 1919 in Star City, after allegedly insulting a white woman. The Arkansas Gazette reported that Briggs made “an insulting proposal to the daughter of J.M. Bailey.” Additional accounts indicated that Briggs simply made a statement that a white couple found offensive. Whichever account is true represented a clear violation of Southern social norms, and Briggs was lynched for that violation.

According to reports, Briggs was walking on a sidewalk in town, when a white couple approached. Briggs stepped aside to allow the couple to pass. As they passed, the white woman brushed his shoulder and said, “Niggers get off of the sidewalk down here.” Briggs replied that it was a free country. The white man in the couple grabbed him and a struggle ensued. White passersby surrounded Briggs and he was thrown into a passing car. Briggs was driven three miles outside of town and tied him to a tree with chains. The men then fired as many as fifty bullets into his body, killing him. Briggs’ body was found several days later by a local black farmer.

Clinton Briggs was not an isolated incident. Black veterans were often the target of mob violence and discrimination. Robert Thomas Kerlin noted in 1920 that even the American Legion was segregated, the all-white organization allowed sub-posts to be organized in each county for black veterans under the authority of the local white post. The Hot Springs Echo noted that color didn’t matter when soldiers were in war, but the valor that black soldiers displayed in combat earned them the “double cross” when they returned home.

Briggs’ lynching was not an isolated incident. Frank Livingston was burned alive in El Dorado, Arkansas on May 21, 1919 for allegedly killing the white couple for whom he worked. There are even accounts of black veterans being lynched in their military uniforms. Historian Nan Elizabeth Woodruff has written that soldiers who returned to the South following World War I soon realized that their service was a threat to the traditional, segregated, southern way of life. They soon became targets of local whites who required the black veteran to return to their subordinate way of life. When the veteran did not follow Southern traditions, lynchings took place.

This Memorial Day, let us not only honor the black soldiers who have died in the service of this country since the Revolutionary War, but let us also honor those veterans who survived the horrors of war, to return home and be lynched because they refused to live as less than a man.

Brian Rodgers is a historian who works for the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock. He is also a published author.

Black History

Trump Signs Executive Orders That Will Impact HBCUs and Black Schoolchildren

Published

2 weeks ago

April 24, 2025

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and establish a White House Initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.”

According to the White House, the Initiative will help develop private-sector partnerships, institutional development and workforce preparation in technology, health care, manufacturing and finance.

The president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry L. Williams said, “Today’s executive order serves as strong reaffirmation of President Trump’s support of investment of historically Black colleges and universities. This executive order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations, members of Congress and state lawmakers to redouble their efforts to support HBCUs and their students. TMCF looks forward to continued engagement with the administration and Congress to deliver results for HBCUs and the students they serve via appropriations and other legislative actions.”

On the same day, Trump signed another executive order that removes safeguards for African American schoolchildren by eliminating an Obama-era initiative to protect Black schoolchildren from excessive disciplinary action.

During the Obama administration, the first Black president’s administration created guidelines that sought to prevent school discipline from having a disproportionate effect on minority students. Trump revoked the civil rights initiative during his first term and Biden did not formally restore it.

At his signing today, Trump said his decision was especially important to the current Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who held the signed order.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”

She added, “Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.

Studies show that Black students are punished more often than their white counterparts.

Black History

President Jimmy Carter Appointed the First Black Woman to Lead a Federal Agency

Published

4 months ago

January 9, 2025

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President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life,
advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his
death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of
Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White
House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that
changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.

Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose
Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in
1977.

Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not
considered before.”

Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.

The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.

Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.

“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”

President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty,
compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice

Black History

The Congressional Black Caucus Prepares for “Important” Work

Published

4 months ago

January 3, 2025

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The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.

“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.