The Horrible Racist History of Texas
The horrible history of Texas includes some of the most barbaric acts in the history of the United States. The crime of rape was one of the weapons that white supremacists used to murder Black men with lynch mobs that eerily remind us of the Capitol riot in the century. Mobs of crazed white supremacist often marched on the jail and courthouse in order to kidnap suspects accused of raping a white woman. The system of white supremacy was strictly enforced in Texas and when Blacks were accused of violating segregation laws they were beaten, jailed, hanged, or tortured. Nothing was worse than being charged with raping a white woman—most often it would mean an automatic death sentence.
In 1930, a Black man named George Hughes was charged with rape in Sherman, Texas. A mob assembled at the courthouse and removed Mr. Hughes The judge had the suspect removed to a steel vault to keep the mob at bay, but they set the courthouse on fire and M. Hughes was burned inside the vault. The white racist mob cut fire hoses top prevent the fire from being extinguished. His corpse was removed and taken to the Black side of town and hung upside down and burned again. The mob also set fire to Black people’s homes in the area. In Fannin County, named after a Texas slave owner, George Johnson was killed when officers fired some two thousand rounds into his house. His body was removed and taken to the Black section and hung upside down and set on fire. In Beaumont, Texas, Curtis Thomas was accused of rape and was shot multiple times and died before a mob could kidnap him from the hospital. When another white woman claimed to be raped some 5,000 crazed lunatics marched to down town Beaumont burning and looting stores. They later went into the Black community and beat any Black person they could find, and burnt down black businesses and homes. Thousand of Blacks were chased from their homes while many of them were afraid to go to a hospital for fear of being lynched there.
There were many horrors in Texas including the burning alive or hanging of one Black person every year, sometimes more than one, for thirty years mostly in East Texas from 1895 until 1930 and beyond. Black people in Texas faced deep-seated hatred by white supremacists and those Whites not actively involved in overt racist act sat by and approved of segregation or went along with the hatred. Whites who refused to hate people because of skin color also faced violence or threats. Blacks had to go to separate venues ranging from restrooms, parks (Comanche Park in San Antonio refused Blacks in the 1950s), theatres, drinking foundations, schools, libraries, restaurants, and even graveyards and swimming pools. Whites fought hard to keep from sharing any facility that serviced them only. Blacks could not serve on juries and were denied the right to vote. No one can honestly claim that segregation was better for Black people.
Approximately, 200 Blacks were murdered by Whites between 1883 and 1905, and another 200 between 1904 and 1930. Sometimes, after Blacks were hanged the crowd would use the body for target practice, shooting at the dangling body until it fell apart. Texas was a savage place to live if one were Black, Brown, or Native American. White supremacy ruled Texas with an iron fist. Man hunts for Black men accused often by rumor only were attacked or chased by lawmen or racist lunatics.
