During the 1940s it was rare for a black person to have control over large amounts of land.
In 1944, a group of white men brutally lynched Rev. Isaac Simmons, a Black minister & farmer, so they could steal his land in Amite County, Mississippi which was over 270 acres
A THREAD!
In the 1940s, Simmons controlled approxmately 270 acres or more of debt-free land, some of which had been owned by the family since 1887. He and other relatives farmed the property and lived on it in relative peace.
In 1941, rumors about oil spread across Southwest Mississippi, and a few white men, thinking there might be oil on it, began to make claims on the Simmons land.
Concerned that his family might lose its property, Simmons contacted an attorney. A few weeks after he hired the lawyer, two men approached Simmons and ordered him to stop cutting timber on his property.
The men also wanted the medicinal formula that Simmons, who served as the local medicine man, had created to treat a livestock disease. Simmons refused to comply with the men.
A few weeks later a group of six men dragged Simmons from his home, beat him and then shot him to death.
According to Simmons’ son, who was abducted and beaten at the same time but survived, the men called Simmons a “smart N—r” because he had consulted a lawyer.
They drove both Simmons men further onto the property and ordered Rev. Simmons out of the car, then killed him brutally–shooting him 3 times and cutting out his tongue. The men let Eldridge Simmons go, but told him he and his relatives had ten days to abandon the family property.
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In 1831, Freedom fighter Nat Turner started what is considered the most deadly slave revolt in the history of the United States , the Nat Turner Rebellion, which sparked the events leading to civil war.
A THREAD
Around early 1828, he was convinced that he “was ordained for some great purpose in the hands of the Almighty”. A solar eclipse and an unusual atmospheric event and is what inspired Nat Turner to start his insurrection, which began on August 21, 1831.
Nat Turner believed God was showing him a sign by putting a black man hand over the Sun. Its been known for thousands of years solar eclipse give off energy.
On this day in 1947, Activist & member of the Black Panther Party Mark Clark was born.
He was assassinated together with Fred Hampton by Chicago police & FBI, both at 21 years Old.
William O'Neal, an FBI informant, infiltrated the Panthers & set up them up for $300
A THREAD
In Illinois, where Fred Hampton was born, the police constantly harassed black people. Access to social goods too was made difficult, if not curtailed, in the areas with heavy black populations.
The party, a creation of Huey Newton and fellow student Bobby Seale, insisted on black nationalist response to racial discrimination. The party’s Illinois chapter was opened in 1967 and Hampton joined in 1968, aged just 20.
When a 6-foot-tall African slave landed in Japan, he stuck out like a sore thumb. People lost all modesty and nearly caused a stampede trying to get a closer look. Such a sight was so foreign in Kyoto.
A THREAD!
Yasuke was in the service of the Japanese warlord Nobunaga Oda for a while.
His real name was "Yasufe" and hailed from the Makua tribe of Mozambique. He arrived in Japan in 1579 as a servant of the Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano.
Alessandro had been appointed the Visitor (inspector) of the Jesuit missions to South and East Asia, an extremely high position, so Yasuke must have been quite trustworthy.
On this day in 1865, enslaved people in Texas were notified by Union Civil War soldiers about the abolition of slavery. This was 2.5 years after the final Emancipation Proclamation which freed all enslaved Black Americans. #Juneteenth
But Slavery continued…
A THREAD
In 1866, a year after the amendment was ratified, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina began to lease out convicts for labor.
This made the business of arresting black people very lucrative, thus hundreds of white men were hired by these states as police officers.
Their primary responsibility being to search out and arrest black peoples who were in violation of ‘Black Codes’
On this day in 1944, George Stinney, at 14 years, became the youngest person executed in the US in the 20th century. He was so small they had to stack books on the electric chair.
Due to no evidence, his conviction was posthumously vacated 70years after his execution!
A THREAD
George was accused of killing two white missing girls, 11-Year-old Betty and 7-year-old Mary, their bodies were found near the house where he lived with his parents in Alcolu, South Carolina march 1944.
The sheriff arrested George and his brother John (later released), because he claimed that George confessed and led officers to the 'place where he hid the murder weapon'. His father was fired from his job at a local sawmill and ordered to vacate the company house.