Twin-City herald. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1927-1940, 1933-07-08


ant, and he and another southern
Negro, Wilbur Nardiman of Patoka,
Indiana, together with two other
Negroes took to their heels, chased
by hundreds Of whites in the Gateway
park at the time. Bricks and boards
were being hurled at them with cries
of Stirring 'em up" and Lynch them"
The Negroes were cornered in blind
alley. Nardiman faced the crowd,
and warned that if they came closer,
he would fire. A brick was the an
swer, and the mob kept coming on.
He fired single shot, killing the
leader.
A grand jury was Immediately con-
vened, consisting entirely of whites,
and Johnson was indicted on a charge
of assault in the first degree, which
would carry several years imprison-
ment and Nardiman on a charge of
murder in the second degree. The In
ternational Labor Defense immedi-
ately interviewed and Nardiman and
Johnson agreed to have the 1. L. D.
handle the case.
However, the county attorneys Of
flee urged Johnson to plead guilty to
the charge, pointing out that if he
did so, the time that he would spend
waiting until his trial in September
could be spent in serving his sentence.
Johnson then pleaded guilty to the
charge of first degree assault and
sentence was to have been passed at
later date. The court, after accept
ing his plea of guilty, then appointed
a lawyer, Harry L. Scott, to repre-
sent Johnson's interests. The LID
again went to johnson, and pointed
out that he should stand trial. John
son agreed to this arrangement. This
occurred on the morning of Friday,
June 30th.
On hearing about this the attor-
ney, Scott, Immediately arranged to
have Johnson again brought before
the court, and attempted to have the
court reduce the sentence from first
degree assault to second degree as
sault, thinking thereby to change
Johnson's determination to stand
trial. But Johnson would have none
of this, and announced to the Court,
81 will not plead guilty to any charge.
The International Labor Defense is
handling my case" Attorney Scott,
angered, then told the court that he
withdraws from the case. Attorney
Scott, asking that he cooperate with
the Internatiial Labor Defense in de-
Tending Johnson, Scott himself Ne
gro replied, "What are you trying to
do make capital out of Nnggers?"
The International Labor Defense,
with the assistance of the Commune
list Party and the Unemployed Coun-
ellis has already taken the case be-
fore the workers of Minneapolis. At
a meeting of the Central branch of
the Unemployed Council held two days
after the riot, $50 workers unani-
mously adopted a resolution condemn
ing the courts and Mayor Anderson
for using the riot as an excuse for
driving both Negro and white home
less workers out of the city of Min
neapolis, and declaring that the
Capitalist system which breeds unem-
ployment, starvation, misery, race
hatreds, is responsible for the riot
and death that occurred on Novem-
Der 22nd." Also, the Unemployed
council called meeting in the neigh
borhood of the riot the Sunday fol-
lowing the Central branch meeting,
despite threats by hoodlums that they
would beat up the speakers, and at
tended by 1000 workers. The work.
ers cheered the speakers, Jack Car
son of the Communist Party and
Harry Mayville of the Unemployed
councils, and pledged to see that the
rights of the Negroes were protected.
On the night of the riot, Negro
workers were chased, an only by the
heroic action of members of the I'm
employed Council and the Communist
Party, succeeded in driving off the
leaders of mobs that sought to harm
Negroes who had nothing to do with
the events that lead up to the riot
and shooting.
The Communist Party issued a
leafiet calling on the workers to see
that the Negroes were protected, and
pointing out that they should not be-
come victims of the race hatred en-
gendered by the capitalist class. The
District office of the International La
Dor Defense issued a statement, de-
claring that they will defend John
son and Nardiman, and calling upon
all workers organizations, Negro and
white, upon all individuals sympathet-
ic to the program of the LID for equal