Flyer, "An Appeal to the Governor and People of Tennessee," by Clark Foreman

TRONAH "NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS AN APPEAL TO THE GOVERNOR AND PEOPLE OF TENNESSEE SERVICE" GOVERNMENT In common with law-abiding people throughout the state and nation, we are appal- led at the recent outbreak of violence in Columbia, Tennessee. The pattern of race hysteria against Negroes which has been set by a small anti- democratic minority in Columbia does not represent the feelings of the people of Tenn- essee, the great majority of whom believe in fair play and fair opportunity for all. the The facts, which have been largely suppressed or distorted in/news, are these: James C. Stephenson, a 19-year-old Negro veteran just returned from serving his coun- try in the Navy, entered a radio repair shop on the public square with his mother, Mrs. Gladys Stephenson, on Monday, February 25. An argument with the white repairman ensued, in which Mrs. Stephenson was insulted and, according to witnesses, struck by the repairman. The young veteran sprang to the defense of his mother and there was a scuffle, in which the white man was slightly hurt. Both mother and son were then cruelly beaten by bystanders, after which they were arrested. Late that afternoon, an armed white mob, described by the sheriff as from 50 to 75 persons, stormed the jail with the avowed intention of lynching the Stephensons. We are informed that only two members of this mob were arrested and that these two were released after paying a small fine for "drunkenness." It was believed by both whites and Negroes that there would be a lynching that night. All night, armed bands of white men roamed the streets. The Negroes sought safety in their homes. Shots were fired into the Mink Slide area from cars driving by on the adjoining street. The Negroes turned off all lights in their area, to avoid presenting an easy target. A carload of whites drove into the Negro area. Shots were fired. There was no indication that the occupants of the car were officers. The Negroes were acting as any other group would have acted in the same circumstances, to defend thier homes and lives against immediate peril of mob violence. That night a cordon of deputies, state highway patrolmen and state guards sur- rounded the Negro section. At dawn, they invaded the area and came in shooting. There were indiscriminate mass arrests of 68 Negroes, without regard to their connec- tion or lack of connection with the shots fired at the officers. These arrests were accompanied by brutal maltreatment of the prisoners and a completely unnecessary and purely vengeful vandalism, in which Negro business establishments were wrecked by the officers. The arrests have since grown to 100. These prisoners have been denied the right to bail. Julius Blair, a 75-year-old property owner, was arrested two hours after an attorney had arranged for him to sign bonds for the prisoners. They have been denied the right of counsel. They have been held incommunicado so that they could not possibly make their own arrangements for counsel. Maurice Weaver, an attorney employed to represent them by the Nat'l Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People, requested to interview the prisoners in jail and to be present when they were questioned. Both rights were denied by J. J. Under- wood, Sheriff of Maury County, and Lynn Bomar, Chief of the Highway Patrol. On Thursday, February 28, three of the prisoners were shot by law-enforcement offi- cers inside the county jail, while they were being questioned. Two, James Johnson and William Gordon, were killed. Napoleon Stewart was wounded. The officers claim they fired in self-defense after one of the prisoners grabbed a gun. They have not ex- plained how it happened that prisoners were questioned in a room containing loose guns, nor why the prisoners could not be subdued without being killed, nor what methods of questioning were being used which could drive defenseless prisoners to so desperate and hopeless an extremity. We have just won a war in which Negro and white Americans fought side by side for democracy and the rights of minorities. Are we going to keep faith with these Negro and white veterans? The eyes of the nation and the world are on what we in Tennessee do about the Columbia cases. Our action must be in line with national ideals of equal justice and opportunity--not an outgrowth of old prejudices and outworn antagonisms. We therefore ask the Governor and local and state law enforcement officials to: 1. Prosecute the members of the white mob who stormed the jail on February 25. 2. Prosecute officers responsible for deaths of two prisoners in their custody. 3. Release all prisoners who have not been charged with any crime. 4. Guarantee to those who are charged with crime a fair trial in the American spir- it and tradition, with all rights provided by the U.S. Constitution, and unmarred by any manifestation of the lynch spirit which has brought about this horrible situation. Clark Foreman, President Southern Conference for Human Welfare