Thread by @michaelharriot

160 years ago today, the state of Georgia refused to seat 33 Black elected officials from the state legislature, sparking a series of events that led to one of Black Twitter's most celebrated memes.

A thread.

A lot of people believe the Civil War wasn't about slavery. Those people are either liars or dumb.

Every single declaration of secession mentions slavery. The Confederate president and VP said: We're doing this for white supremacy

Well, they put it more plainly

Regardless of WHAT you believe the Civil War was about–slavery, states rights, taxes or the right to wear a handlebar mustache, one thing is not up for debate:

The traitor states concluded that they didn't want to be part of America if they couldn't have their way.

After the unpatriotic white supremacists got their asses kicked, they were required to apply for readmission to the Union, including submitting new state Constitutions.

In many states, Confederates were actually barred from voting and holding office after the Civil War.

Even in states like SC & Miss, where traitors weren't disenfranchised, Black voters outnumbered whites–especially in rural areas where former enslaved people were the majority.

But if whites couldn't vote & hold office, who'd rewrite the constititions?

Black people, that's who

SC was majoriity Black, so the constitutional delegation was, too. Louisiana had a Black Gov. Miss. elected 168 Black officials. They guaranteed universal male suffrage, public schools and human rights.

Most were like Ga's ORIGINAL 33–Republican preachers & former Union soldiers

Take Henry McNeal Turner, for instance. He was a preacher, chaplain for the US Colored Troops & a Freedman's Bureau before he was elected to serve Bibb County

blackpast.org/african-americ…

My favorite is Tunis Campbell.

Tunis was all about Black Power. He was actually there on Sherman's march to the sea. So when Sherman issued Special Field Order No. 15, Tunis was actually in CHARGE of giving out the 40 acres and a mule to freedmen.

pbs.org/wnet/african-a…

Now, if you remember, the actual order was for the coastal areas from SC to Jacksonville, Fla, where Tunis served as the military governor in the region. Of course, the US government reneged a year later. But, by that time, it was too late.

In McIntosh County, Tunis told the formerly enslaved ppl: "They're gonna come back and take this land. Trust me, I know white people."
When the new landowners asked Tunis what they should do, Tunis told him his plan:

"We're gonna cut down all the trees."

When whites in got their land back, they were broke, had no slaves & no revenue for a year. They assumed that Black people would still work the land. After all, what else could ex-slaves do?

Well, the Freedmen had sold the timber & bought a whole town–Belle Ville Ga.

So when Tunis, Henry and 33 Black men were elected to the state legislature, you know the ex-Confederates were mad AF. They refused to seat them & started killing them. The cowards wore masks when the came for some, like Alfred Richardson.

Malcolm Claireborn was shot in the chest IN THE CAPITOL BUILDING. Monday FLoyd was kidnapped and released before he was killed.

Most of the ones who survived only did so because they moved to ATL, sought protection from Union troops, the Freedmen's bureau or...

Black people.

Henry Turner represented majority-Black Bibb County, so he wasn't afraid. Tunis Cambell lived in a Black town with his own army. The terrorists came for him, but they kept failing. They poisoned him. They burned down his house, but could never get him.

The Black survivors had an idea. What if they got MORE Republicans elected? But how? The Black voter registration rate was 90% but the white terrrorists would intimidate Black voters. How could the Original 33 spread the word without Democrat terrorists finding out?

On Sept. 16, hundreds of Black voters planned a march from majority Black Albany, Ga to majority Black Mitchell County. They contacted Black churches along the way to prepare food. They reserved lodging along the way with Republican-friendly landowners.

They planned to hold a huge political rally in the town square when they arrived in Mitchell, so they even hired a band. They had figured out how to unite Black people and spread the word.

That's right:

They were going to have a cookout.

Mitchell County was majority white but Camilla, the county seat where they were having the cookout, was 70% Black.

As soon as the marchers crossed the county line, Jimmy Johns, a notorious white drunk, stopped the procession bc their music was too loud & called the police.

The sherrif told them they could pass through, as long as they gave up their weapons.

The marchers were like: "This white man must be crazy. You know they kill Black voters, right?" & kept marching.

The white terrorists were waiting. How did they know? Well, there's 3 theories

The first is Edwin Flagg, William Fish & Varnum Putney.

Flagg, Fish & Putney were white Republicans "allies" who invited the Peter Hines Band to stay at their places the night before the march. They bragged to everyone that they were down with the ppl organizing the big cookout.

Maybe it was China Grove Baptist Church who tipped them off
One of the South's many segregated congregations, they informed whites that they were meeting at the church to join the parade headed to the Camilla cookout

The 3rd suspect is a Black man only known as "Broadnax"

Basically Broadnax, was the Jason Whitlock of Albany, he wrote a letter to the Mitchell County Sherrif saying:

"You know about the cookout right? I'm sure they'll have their guns with them. Just wanna let you know."

In any case, the white people were waiting and it was BRUTAL.

What happened?

Well, if you've never heard of the Original 33...

If you've never heard of the Camilla Massacre...

If you wanna know why Georgia was the only state to be kicked out of America TWICE...

You don't even have to read this thread.

You can just listen to the newest episode of Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History with special guests @rolandsmartin as Tunis Campbell and hear the rest of the story LIVE FROM THE COOKOUT, including the most important part:

This is why white folks aren't invited.

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

listen.sonymusic-podcasts.link/Zs8DxAjO

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