The Omaha guide., 1946-03-09

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rioting in Columbia. AZ mil
es from here, early February
20 reveals that there was a
real threat of lynclnig, that a
mob actually called at the jail
seking a cOlOred woman and
her son. that the shooting in
which ten persons were
wounded resulted from the
rear of Negroes that lynching
party was to be staged.
An attorney for the NAAOI',
Maurice Weaver, white, a return
ed serviceman now practicing il
Chattanooga, secured the release
on bond Of "A. j. Morton, leading
Negro undertaken, and Sol Blair
a barber, who were arrested anc
charged at fist with attempted
muder- The two men with Wea-
yer and Donald Jones NAACP
assistant field secretary, confer
red here with z. Alexander LOBBY
Of the NAACP national
legal committee.
The NAACP offered legal de-
fense to the Columbia citizens
who were arrested In addition it
wired both Governor Jim NC
Cord and Attorney General Clark
in Washington demanding the
safeguarding of the civil rights Of
the colored people The Clark
wire asked Federal intervention.
REAL LYNCHING THREAT
Most newspaper accounts of the
rioting omitted the events which
started the trouble, and none told
of the visit of mob to the jail,
presumably to lynch a colored
woman and her son.
The trouble started when Will
lam Fleming, a white radio re-
pairman, slapped, struck or kick
ed Mrs. Gladys Stephenson about
IL am Monday, February 25, and
was promptly knocked through a
plate glass window by her son,
lanes Efanhenznr1
Morton, regarded as the leading
Negro citizen Of Columbia, and
Blair heard rumors of mob viol-
ence and are said to have persu-
AIDED the sheriff to release James
on bond. He and his mother were
brought to Nashville about 4 pm.
Monday for safekeeping.
About 6 pm, according to the
NAACP investigators, a mob of
whites went to the jail looking
for the Stephensons and was told
by the sheriff that the couple was
not there.
Meanwhile, Negro citizens be-
came alarmed at seeing an arm
ed white mob and a scant block
away from their district. Rumors
Of a lynching spread like wildfire.
The mink Slide Negro business
district was barricaded and the
peaple prepared to defend them
selves.
The best information is that the
white mob did not attack Negro
es, but the demonstration before
the jail was sufficient to convince
citizens that trouble was
in the air. An idea Of the feeling
can be gained from the statement
Of Cal Lockridge, a coloreds man
Of being a leader in the
Said he to police:
"We heard that white man
walked into a store and bought
some rope. When the clerk asked
what he wanted il for, he said
We are going to hang some Ne
groes tonight. We didn't like It.
We didn't want to get killed. we
heard that two Negroes had been
hanged not long ago.
FOUR POLICEMEN SHOT
The rioting, if it can be called
that, seems to have been entirely
between police, state troopers,
state guardsmen and Negroes.
White civilians took little or 10
part, althoughm any of them did
roam the streets armed.
-Four city policemen went into
the Negro district which was
fully convinced a lynching was
about to be staged. The policemen
were. ShOL IhlS brought on The
state guard, a total Of 500 men
armed in all.
The state troopers went to town
in the Negro district, Describing
the action, the Nashville Banner
said:
"As the highway patrolmen
moved into the Mink Slide or
Black Bottom section this morn
ing they blasted a number Of Ne
gro business establishments with
machine guns and carbines. Some
places which were wrecked by
machine gun from the patrolmen
were !"
ARMED WHITES NOT