Murders From America's Racist History

“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”--George Santayana

In a 2019 Brookings survey, only 19% of Blacks say that America has made progress toward racial equality over the years, compared to 56% of whites. Considering our racist history often highlights horrific acts committed by the self-proclaimed “inferior” class of people, the statistics aren't so shocking.

The fact is, America was built on a racist history that’s only passed down its ideologies from generation to generation. Racism, in the 21st century, is alive and well, although now it's often more toned-down to a simple mindset since lynching and acts of violence are verboten.

Rather than acknowledge the past and how it remains deeply embedded into the world today, people would soon forget, at least those responsible for the wounds of so many people.

Maybe that is why History books neglect to tell the real history of America, the hundreds of years of racism the county was built on.

The following stories highlight America’s racist history they’d rather never again be mentioned. Let’s continue to evolve and break free from our racist past. Education is power!

The Story of Rosa Lee Ingram

On Feb. 3, 1948, Rosa Lee Ingram and her two children, 17-year-old Wallace and14-year-old Sammie Lee, were arrested and found guilty of murder in a one-day trial by an all-white jury, sentenced to die by electric chair. The Ellaville, Georgia, family acted in self-defense against an armed white man who violently assaulted the family and threatened to kill them.

That man, landowner John Stratford, attacked Ingram with a pocket knife and shotgun as she worked on his farm. Witnesses revealed that Stratford hit Ingram in the head with the rifle, threatened to sexually assault her, and said that he would kill her and her children.

One of Ingram’s children struck Stratford in the head with a farm tool when he heard the threat against his mom. Stratford died instantly. The Ingram children were arrested immediately after police found Stratford's body.

The local sheriff testified at trial that Ingram acted in self-defense, but that did not sway the decision. After civil rights leaders weighed in on the matter, the death sentence was commuted to life sentences for all three people. They were finally released on parole in 1959.

The Lynching of Willie Earle

Willie Earle, a 24-year-old African American man, was being held in the Pickens County Jail in South Carolina on charges he assaulted a white taxi cab driver when on Feb. 17, 1947, a mob of whites, mainly taxi cab drivers, removed Mr. Earle from the jail, took him to an old country road near Greenville, South Carolina, and nearly beat him to death before they shot and killed the man.

Of the 31 people arrested for attacking Earle, 26 admitted to participating in his death. Judge J. Robert Martin stated at the beginning of the trials that he would not “allow racial issues to be injected in the case.” The 10-day trial, the men laughed any time Mr. Earle’s name was mentioned.

The defense blamed “northern interference” for even having a trial at all. The attorney then referred to Mr. Earle as a “mad dog” who deserved to be killed. The white spectators in the courtroom clapped, laughed, and rejoiced at the statement.

The all-white jury acquitted all 31 defendants on May 21, 1947, despite their admissions. The defendants were then released from jail.

In 1948, Mr. Earle’s mother attempted to collect funds from the state per a law ordering lynching victims be paid $2,000. The judge denied her claim, stating that the men were acquitted, therefore, no proof that her son had been lynched.

State Trooper Murders Jimmie Lee Jackson

On Feb. 18, 1965, in Marion, Alabama, a group of civil rights activists gathered at the Zion United Methodist Church. The group had planned a night march supporting James Orange, the field secretary for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, after his arrest. As the night march began, Alabama State Troopers ordered the crowd to disperse, then immediately began to attack them.

Jimmie Lee Jackson, his mother, Viola, and his 82-year-old grandfather, Cager Lee, attempted to flee the violence, seeking shelter inside Mack's Cafe. Police followed them into the cafe and began to physically attack Viola and Cager. Jimmie Lee came to help his grandfather and mother, resulting in trooper James Fowler twice shooting him in the abdomen.

Jackson fled the cafe before collapsing in the road. He died at a hospital eight days later.

Fowler admitted that he shot Jackson but was never charged. That changed in 2017.

Mr. Jackson’s death partially sparked “Bloody Sunday,” the March 7, 1965, protest march from Selma to Montgomery.