s'iThe Monitor m
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, ? NEBRASKA’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS
** „/ THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLLAMS, Editor.
$2.00 a Year—5 Cent* a Copy OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 1927 Vol. XII—No. SO Whole Number 620
WHITES; NOT NEGROES, CAUSE RIOT
WHITE GIRLS LIE
INCITED RACE RIOT
AND NEAR LYNCHING
Julia Mooney, High School Student,
Who Claimed Negroes Assaulted
Her and Her Companion I*
Arrested
ALLEGED ASSAILANT IS HELD
County Authorities Charge That
Girl Connived With Assailants
Against Chum. Held Under
Heavy Bond
Coffeyville, Kans.—Determination
of colored citizens of Coffeyville,
Kansas, as they said in a statement
through their own representative,
"to clear the race of a guilt placed
upon its member of a crime for
which they are reasonably sure they
are not responsible,” resulted in the
arrest of a white girl and a white
man here Monday, May 31. The
former was held on a charge of be
ing accessory and the latter on a
charge of being perpetrator of an
attack upon a 17-year-oid white girl
which crime was charged to colored
Americans.
“The mob violence, arrests, damag
ing publicity and other abuses heap
ed upon colored Coffeyville citizens,
as well as the detrimental effects on
all colored Americans that grew out
of the accusation placed on Negroes,
will certainly all be revealed to have
been gross injustice,” said the repre
sentative of the colored citizens fol
lowing the arrests.
Married Man Arretted
The white girl being held is Julia
Mooney, lb-year-old room-mate of
Margaret Akers, the girl who was
attacked, on the night of the crime;
the white man, Ira Kennedy, 30
year-old Wichita, Kansas, automo
.bile salesman—a married man with
four children. The girl alleged
Tuesday night the police used third
degree methods in an attempt to get
her to change her original story in
which she accused three “Negroes”
of assaulting her and her companion
in their bedroom on the morning of
March 17. Kennedy protests he was
not in Coffeyville the night specified
in the charge against him. Both I
have employed attorneys to defend
them. They were still in jail Wed
nesday in default of $40,000 bonds.
Suit* Filed
The original charge of the girls ]
against three strange “Negroes” led
to race rioting March 18, in which
three colored persons were seriously
injured and much property damage
done in the colored section of the
city. Suits for $35,000 damages
have already been filed by three col
ored persons who were injured by
members of the mob, Hershel-Ford
and Napoleon Anderson, asking
$10,000 each, and Gus Hughes ask-1
ing $15,000.
The first report spread in Coffey
ville was that the two girls, who
are both students in the Coffeyville
high school, sleeping alone in a house
here were attacked by three “Ne
groes,” who gained admission by way
of a window. Next day the city
and surrounding country were alive
with angry whites, mad for revenge
on the attackers of their women.
Negroes were pursued to their homes
and attempts were made to storm the
jail where three suspects were being
held. Hardware stores were broken
into and arms secured by the whites
who attacked the colored district of
the city after their efforts to storm
the jail had been frustrated. A
number of lynchings were perhaps
only prevented by the brave stand
of the colored citizens in fighting
back the invaders and the timely ar
rival of the national guArd detach
ments. Only after the establishment
of martial law was there any sem
blance of quiet. Efforts, however,
were made to frighten colored stu
dents into staying away from the
mixed school.
Girl Joins Party
With the failure of the girls to
identify any of the colored suspects
brought before them and facts re
vealed by investigators of the
crime, strong evidence was estab
lished that Negroes did not commit
the deed.
Then came reports that white men,
and not Negroes, were responsible
for the trouble.
It was told to authorities that
Margaret Akers had said she was a
guest that night of Julia Mooney
and that the story about the Negroes
had been made up after white men
had been admitted to the house by
the Mooney girl.
The younger girl was reported to
have protested against the men visit
ing them and to have been persuaded
by the older girl to join them in
revelry.
The next day the story about the
Negroes was told.
It is understood the authorities
will make the charge that the older
girl aided the white men in mistreat
ing the younger girl.
Demand Prosecution
For several weeks after the race
trouble, which followed the spread of
the first story, it was whispered
about Coffeyville that white men had
been implicated in the affair. The
fact that some of the men in the
affair were married caused the scan
dal to be discussed even more.
A minister announced one Sunday
that the superintendent of the Sun
day school would make some revela
tions concerning the affair in a talk
the following Sunday, but when the
next Sunday came, not a word was
said publicly.
The warrants on which the arrests j
were made were sworn out by Walter
S. Keith, city prosecutor.
Bonds of $20,000 are asked for
each of the two prisoners.
The Mooney girl is a member of
this year’s graduating class of the
Coffeyville high school and was to
have received her diploma with her
classmates in commencement exer
cises. The Akers girl is a member
of a lower class of the high school.
County authorities charge that
Miss Mooney connived with the as
sailants and that Miss Akers was an
Kennedy, who has a wife and four
children, denied the charges, declar
ing that he was in Wichita the night
of March 17. His wife corroborated
his statement and said he was at the
home of her mother at Augusta, Kan
sas, that night.
Mrs. Kennedy explained that she
and her husband had occupied the
house in which the attack occurred
and that Miss Mooney was a roomer.
Miss Akers, the younger of the girls
often passed the night with her
friend, Mrs. Kennedy said.
YOUNG MAN QUICKLY
FOLLOWS HIS MOTHER
- I
Henry Blackwell, aged 32, died ,
at the home of his sister, Mrs. Char-!
les W. Dickerson, 2814 Ohio street,
Saturday afternoon at 1 o’clock, af
ter a few days’ illness. His mother,.
Mrs. Missouri Blackwell, to whom he
was unusually ■ devoted, died April
25. Always of rugged health and
sturdy constitution, Henry complain
ed of a bad cold Sunday night. A
physician was called Monday and his
condition did not seem very serious.
Adverse conditions developed Wed
nesday resulting in his death Sat
urday. The funeral was held Mon
day at 10 o’clock from Myer’s fu
neral home, interment being in For
est Lawn cemetery. Rev. John Al
bert Williams officiated. He is sur
vived by two brothers, Bert of Des
Moines, la.; and Frank of Omaha;
a sister, Mrs. Charles W. Dickerson
and other relatives.
WORLD POPULATION
NEARLY TWO BILLION
Boston, Mass.—The population of
the world is estimated at 1,906,000,
000 in a report issued recently by
the World Peace Foundation on the |
basis of figures prepared by the
league of nations.
The report states that of the total
population approximately 1,680,000,
000 persons occupy territory “with
in the orbit of the league.’’ Approx
imately 17 per cent of the total pop
ulation, according to the report, were
i nationals of states which do not be
| long to the league.
“The Challenge of
Race Adjustments”
Speech Delivered by Dr. George E. Haynes, Secretary of the
Commission on the Church and Race Relations, Fed
eral Council of Churches, at National Council of
Congregational Churches at Omaha May 26th
“The world war gave a tremen
dous increase to the trend of Amer
ica from agricultural pursuits to
manufacturing, mechanical and com
mercial occupations. This change in
occupation was accompanied by a
rapid movement of the population
from the rural districts to the urban
centers. Today between 50 and 60
per cent of our total population is
an urban population.
One-Tenth Population Negro
“One person in every ten of the
total population is a Negro. Negroes
are part of the great urban industrial
development. The migration of Ne
groes to cities and to northern in
dustrial centers during the world
war was so outstanding a fact that
it attracted the attention of all ob
servers. This migration, however, of
the Negro from the country to the
city and from the south to the north
had been going on for more than
40 years preceding. In 1920, 36
states and the District of Columbia
had 6,000 or more Negro population,
these numbers have increased every
year since the last census. Of course,
the large majority of the Negroes
still reside in the southern states.
While this is true, it is also a fact
that the border states like North
Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio and Indi-*
ana are increasing in their Negro
population in proportion more rapid
ly than the states farther south; in
fact, as near as we can estimate,
some of the states of the far south
have had an actual decrease through
migration of the Negro population,
/mother significant fact in the situ
ation is that the white population
of the south has migrated to north
ern industrial and commercial cen
ters in larger numbers than the Ne
groes. Between 1910 and 1920 more
tnan twice as many white people mi
grated to northern industrial and
commercial centers as Negroes.
The Race in industry
“In the field of industry white and
Negro workers by the thousands in i
all of the northern and border cities i
and in many of the southern cities
aie in keen competition in the same
occupations and often in the same in
dustrial plants. The white worker
to a large extent is organized in
unions and workers’ associations. The j
Negro to a large extent is unorgan
ized except through his churches.
1 he organized white worker looks
with prejudice born of fear upon the
potential competition of the Negro!
because he believes this means low-!
er wages and less power to bargain
and contend with his employer. The
Negro worker, on the other hand, be
cause he has suffered at the hands
of white workers in the past is bus- j
picious of them and cautious about |
joining them in any organized way.
Ambitious for Education
“In the field of education the Ne
gro is knocking for the door of op
portunity to open wide as for other
groups. The Negro today is just as
ambitious for the education of his
children—if not more so—as were
the freedmen of the past generation.
They are no longer dependent, how
ever, upon mission schools and funds
for that education. More and more
Negroes are coming to the conviction
that education should be furnished
from public funds and in public
schools. In the south where there
are separate schools a crucial issue
is one for a fair division of public
school funds. That there can be lib
eral-handed justice, fair play and j
hearty co-operation by both races in
the distribution of public school funds
has been emphatically illustrated in
the state of North Carolina, where
during the past eight or ten years a
liberal policy has been developed
which provides for the education of !
the Negro citizens from college down
to the lower school grades as justly
as for the education of white citi
zens.
"The housing, sanitary and health
conditions in the neighborhoods and
communities into which these people
come by the thousands must be faced
and handled.
Church Relation*
“Another phase of racial adjust
ment that may be mentioned as a
challenge to America today is the
racial relations within the churches
themselves. Nine out of ten Negroes
today who are members of churches
are affiliated with distinctive Negro
denominations and practically all the
Negro members of denominations
that have both white and colored
^members are grouped together in
separate congregations; the result is
that today we practically have a uni
fied division along racial lines within
the church itself. The Negro church
in history, tradition, organized
strength and financial support is by
far the greatest institution the Ne
groes themselves have and have built
up. It is their very own by virtue
of its history, the fidelity with which
it has been supported and the en
thusiasm it arouses. Most of the
channels of group expression are
more or less blocked, so that the,
church has furnished a great outlet
j for this expression. It is still the
! greatest agency for social adjust
I ment for the Negro grou.
The Church’s Business
“It seems to me it is the business
of the Church to stimulate white
leaders to see that even-handed ju-s
I tice and full recognition of Negro
manhood day in and day out is the
only sure road to sound democracy.
Personality the Key
“Let us remember in considering
j this question that race relations are,
above all, human relations, and the
greatest factor in human relations is
; respect and sympathetic understand
: ing and personality. Perhaps the
I greatest difficulty today is the fact
the white race has been entrusted for
, so many centuries with dominant
power over other groups that it is
I difficult for white people to realize
j that there is personality in other
races demanding and expecting rec
ognition and respect equal to that
which the white man seeks for him
self. The great problem is to secure
that respect and recognition for per
sonality which makes for co-opera
tion and fellowship between racial
groups. The Negro today has come
1.0 a realization of his own worth and
a consciousness of his manhood
which demands of his white fellow
citizens full respect for his manhood
and personality. He wants nothing
more; he can be content with nothing
less.’’
SOCIAL WORK GRADUATES .
Atlanta, <ia. — Fourteen young
women have received diplomas from
the Atlanta School of Social Work,
having completed a year of study
and pracical experience in this field.
The commencement address was de
livered by Rev. W. W. Alexander,
director of the commission on inter
racial co-operation and the diplomas
were presented by Prof. E. Franklin
Frazier, retiring director of the
school.
SAYS MODERN MOTHERS
AHt LACKING IN MODESTY
Oakland, Cal.—The dress and
manners of American women were
denounced by Mrs. F. Langworthy of
Chicago recently at the national '"n
- -css of parents and teachers. Mrs.
Langworthy said very few mothers
are more modest than the younger
girls.
She defined an immodest dress as
one that “draws attention to the
hodv rather than to the personality
of the wearer.”
WHITE RAPISTS, NOT NEGROES,
CAUSED RIOT IN COFFEYVILLE
White Newspaper Now Admits the
Charge Made by N. A. A. C. P.
Attorney Last
May
New York, N. Y.—Charges made
by Attorney Elisha Scott, retained
by the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People in
May, to the effect that white rapists,
not colored, were responsible for the
race riot of March 18 in Coffeyville,
Kansas, are now admitted in a front
page display story in the Coffeyville
Daily Journal of May 30, which says:
“Whites, not Negroes, were the
bedfellows of Julia Mooney and
Margaret Akers, Coffeyville high
school girls, the night of March 17,
the black letter night in the city’s
history which led up to rioting, mob
violence and bloodshed, if prosecu
tions statrted by the state are based
on justice.”
As early as May 11, in response to
telegraphic appeal from the Coffey
ville branch, the national office of
the N. A. A. C. P. wired Attorney
Elisha Scott, asking him to go at
once to Coffeyville. Mr. Scott on
May 15 reported to the N. A. A.
C. P.:
“This case is of unusual impor
tance because the Negroes made a
stand, turned back the mob and sav
ed the property of our folks. And
it is a fact without dispute, that
those two white girls that I have
named, were not assaulted by Ne
groes.”
Mr. Scott, retained by the N. A.
A. C. P., has undertaken the defense
of two colored men, Anderson and
Ford, who are charged with firing
into the mob which ran riot in the
Negro district. All of the white peo
ple arrested in connection with the
rioting have been .discharged. The
N. A. A. C. P. is financing the case.
According to the Coffeyville Daily
Journal, Ira Kennedy, white, former
automobile salesman, has been ar
rested and charged with rape, and
one of the school girl “victims,”
Julia Mooney, is held charged with
being an accessory to the attack up
on her friend, Margaret Akers.
“At least two other white men will
be arrested, according to semi-offi
cial predictions,” reports the Coffey
ville Daily Journal. “It is alBO ru
mored that persons alleged to have
offered to use money in diverting
the course of justice will feel the
heavy hand of the law.”
In the course of the riot, which
followed the assault upon the white
girls, a number of Negroes were
brutally assaulted and beaten by the
white mob, one at least being left
for dead.
Attorney Elisha Scott reports that
the sentiment of the best white peo
ple has ben sympathetic to the Ne
groes.
Mr. Scott’s report to the N. A. A.
C. P. says in part: “The record
shows that a white boy was shot
through the hand and one fell to the
ground and his shoulder was dislo
cated and was beaten, but our inves
tigation shows from rumors that can
be relied upon, that at least three
white men were killed, probably
more.”
The mob fired upon by colored
men defending themselves “was
stopped before they reached Ander
son’s pool hall.”
FLORIDA SHOULD PASS
ANTI-LYNCHING BILL
Tallahassee, Fla.—By a vote of 67
to 24, the Florida house of repre
sentatives Tuesday passed an anti
evolution bill after appending to it
an amendment prohibiting the teach
ing of evolution or kindred theories
“as fact.”
VETERAN COP RESIGNS
Los Angeles, Cal.—A. N. P.—Al
lan A. Watson, veteran race police
officer resigned June 1, after more
than 20 years’ service on the Los
Angeles police force. Ill health, re
sulting from a serious accident, was
the cause.
FRANTIC ....
SUBDUED BY VOLLEY
FROM MACHINE GUNS
Two Killed and Many Hurt When
1,000 Storm Jail to Get a White
Man Accused of Clubbing Fam
ily of Five to Death
Tampa, Fla.— (Special)—Fighting
with “bulldog” tenacity first local
officers and then national guards
men made the most determined
stand against mob violence that has
ever been witnessed in this section in
guarding the life of a white man who
is charged with clubbing to death a
family of five white persons as they
slept in their beds.
Casualties resulting from repeated
efforts of 1,000 white men, women
and children to storm the Hissbor
ough county jail, where the alleged
murderer, B. F. Levins, was thought
to be confined, in the face of teare
gas bomb barrages, rifle and ma
chine gun fire was placed at two
killed and fourten injured, several
seriously.
The mob members literally saw
“red” when their bluff was called
in their first effort to storm the
jail where Sheriff Hiers had told
them that the man they sought was
not confined, but which they refused
to believe, and to their astonishment .
he actually directed his men to fire
on a group as they stormed the jail.
Several of their number were injured
by the firing. Following this act the
mob grew rapidly, hundreds of irate
lawless whites coming to get the
officer who dared to shoot a white
man. The sheriff car was burned
and jagged holes torn in the jail wall
by the attackers. Only the arrival of
the national guard after a hurried
call perhaps saved the men in the
jail. Even after the guardsmen ar
rived it took the machine gun fire to
retard the angry mob.
FALLS TWENTY-FIVE
FEET IN ELEVATOR
SHAFT IN BANK
Lovejoy Crawford, Messenger in
United States National Bank
Fractures Shoulder and
Arm
Lovejoy Crawford, messenger at
the United States National bank,
narrowly escaped death Wednesday
morning when he fell a distance of
twenty-five feet through an elevator
shaft. His left shoulder and arm
were badly fractured in the fall. He
was rushed to St. Joseph’s hospital
where the fractures were reduced
and a careful examination was made
for internal injuries which were at
first feared. No internal injuries
were found.
Crawford was running the eleva
tor in the absence of the regular
conductor, Burns Scott, who was on
his vacation. It is said that another
employee ran the elevator to an up
per floor in his absence. Crawford,
not knowing this, opened the door
and fell through the shaft.
WILL STUDY KANYA AFRICANS
——— «
New York, N. Y.—President Fred
erick P. Keppel and Secretary James
Bertram of the Carnegie corpora
tion of New York, sailed for Havre
last week, from this port, on their
way to the Kanya colony and South
Africa, where they will make a study
of the educational organization.
They will be away several months,
Dr. Keppel said.
RECEIVE GOLD MEDALS
Bessemer, Ala.—Seventy-three col
ored employees were among 116
miners who were honored by the
Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad
company recently for long time em
ployment at Muscoda.
Colored employees were presented
with medals at a barbecuse Friday
night, June 3, in the ball park at
Muscoda. There were 73 colored
employees, who had been with the
company from 26 to 40 years, it is
stated.
HEAR PICKENS SUNDAY.
