African American History

Revisit: THE 1972 SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY SHOOTING

Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is the largest historically Black college in the state of Louisiana. In 1970, over 10,000 Black students attended the university. Although the school president and most of the administration were Black, the university itself was under the control of the Louisiana State Legislature. The state spent only half as much money on the Black students and their facilities as they did on the white students in predominantly white colleges and universities. Continue reading Revisit: THE 1972 SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY SHOOTING

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African American History

Revisit: THE JAYBIRD-WOODPECKER WAR (1888-1889)

The Jaybird-Woodpecker War was between two political factions in Fort Bend County, Texas. The origin of the conflict can be traced back to Reconstruction when African Americans, who comprised 80% of the population in the county, dominated politics. That domination was reflected in the election of Walter Moses Burton in 1869 as the first Black county sheriff in the nation. At one point in Reconstruction, more than 50% of the county offices were held by Black men. Nonetheless, economically whites still dominated, owning 80% of the country’s land and leaving the vast majority of Black residents as sharecroppers Continue reading Revisit: THE JAYBIRD-WOODPECKER WAR (1888-1889)

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SAN MIGUEL DE GUALDAPE SLAVE REBELLION (1526)

San Miguel de Gualdape is a former Spanish colony founded in 1526 by Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon. It was the third settlement in North America, north of Mexico. In the early 1500s, Spaniards were conducting expeditions to the area now known as South Carolina and Georgia to kidnap Native Americans as slaves. In 1521, wealthy planter, lawyer, and magistrate Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon dispatched an expedition led by Francisco Gordillo to the Bahamas to capture natives, and Gordillo returned with seventy Indians. Ayllon took a recently baptized Indian with him to Spain to speak with the court chronicler about his homeland and people and tales of valuable gems in the region. After meeting with the King, Ayllon received a royal patent, giving him permission from King Charles V and the Royal and Supreme Council of Indies to establish a settlement on the eastern seaboard in 1523. Continue reading SAN MIGUEL DE GUALDAPE SLAVE REBELLION (1526)

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African American History

Profile: GLOUCESTER COUNTY CONSPIRACY (1663)

The Gloucester County Conspiracy, also known as the Servant’s Plot or Birkenhead’s Rebellion, took place in Virginia in 1663. The plan involved a rebellion of African, English, Irish, and Indian indentured servants and slaves plotting against authorities in Gloucester County, Virginia. On September 1, 1663, nine indentured servants: John Gunter, William Bell, Richard Darbishire, John Hayte, Thomas Jones, William Ball, William Poultey, William Bendell, and Thomas Collins met at a small house belonging to Peter Knight in the woods near Cooks Quarter in Gloucester County, to plan the rebellion. Bell and Gunter were appointed leaders of the uprising. Continue reading Profile: GLOUCESTER COUNTY CONSPIRACY (1663)

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