Equal Justice Initiative
@eji.org
We work to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial injustice. Led by Bryan Stevenson. Creators of @legacysites.eji.org
On this day in 2012, a white man opened fire on worshippers at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people and seriously injuring several others.
Aug. 5, 2012 | Six People Killed in Racially Motivated Attack at Sikh Temple in Wisconsin
Learn more about our history of racial injustice.
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"EJI has so far built a lynching memorial, a Legacy Museum, a vast sculpture garden and a public square with a permanent exhibit on the civil rights movement. Each element of the complex, which is still growing, is as powerful as any museum or memorial I have visited."
Opinion | Trump's Smithsonian Attacks Are Attacks on America’s Future
This is how we decide who we are and who we want to be.
nytimes.com
On this day in 1964, the bodies of three missing civil rights workers—James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner—were found in Longdale, Mississippi, shot and buried in a shallow grave.
Aug. 4, 1964 | Missing Civil Rights Workers Found Dead in Mississippi
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Jeffery Brian Parker was killed on July 14 at Ventress Correctional Facility in Clayton, Alabama. Despite high levels of reported violence at Ventress, it continues, unabated.
Third Homicide in Eight Months at Alabama Prison
Jeffery Brian Parker, 45, was killed at Ventress on July 14.
eji.org
On this day in 1919, a week of white mob violence targeting Black communities in Chicago ended, leaving 38 dead, hundreds injured, and over 1,000 Black families homeless.
Aug. 3, 1919 | White Mobs Terrorize Black Community on Chicago's South Side
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On this day in 1900, North Carolina approved a literacy test voting requirement that was used to disenfranchise most Black people in the state.
Aug. 2, 1900 | North Carolina Votes to Disenfranchise Black Residents
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On this day in 1944, white transit workers in Philadelphia protested the promotion of eight Black workers to become trolley drivers—a job previously reserved for white men.
Aug. 1, 1944 | White Transit Workers Protest Black Workers' Promotions in Philadelphia
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On this day in 1963, nine years after the Supreme Court banned racial segregation in public schools, the University of North Alabama denied admission to Walter Gunn because he was Black.
Jul. 31, 1963 | Years After Brown Ruling, UNA Denies Black Student Admission Based on Race
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Alabama abolished judicial override in 2017, finally prohibiting trial judges from rejecting jury verdicts of life to impose the death penalty. Still, 25 people in the state face execution despite their jurors voting for life imprisonment without parole.
Despite Jury Verdicts for Life, People in Alabama Still Face Execution
25 people face execution in Alabama whose juries voted for life.
eji.org
On this day in 1866, a white mob that included many Confederate veterans attacked a group of Black people who were participating in a voting rights convention in New Orleans, killing dozens.
Jul. 30, 1866 | White Mob Attacks Black Voting Rights Convention in New Orleans
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The Legacy Museum takes visitors on a journey through American history, tracing the myth of racial hierarchy through its tragic evolution, from enslavement to mass incarceration. The Museum begins with an education about the Middle Passage, which claimed the lives of two million kidnapped Africans.
On this day in 1910, a white mob of hundreds massacred Black residents in Slocum, a majority-Black community in Texas.
Jul. 29, 1910 | White Mob Massacres Black Residents in Slocum, Texas
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On this day in 1916, police in Louisville, Kentucky, arrested three Black people allegedly involved in interracial relationships and launched a full investigation into other local cases.
Jul. 28, 1916 | Louisville Police Arrest Three Black People for Interracial Relationships
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On this day in 1967, the Detroit Rebellion ended. During the conflict, at least 43 people, 33 of whom were Black, were killed—most at the hands of law enforcement.
Jul. 27, 1967 | Detroit Rebellion Leaves Dozens Dead, Most at the Hands of Law Enforcement
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On this day in 1949, a mob of hundreds of white men shot Ernest Thomas, a Black man, over 400 times while he was asleep under a tree in Madison County, Florida.
Jul. 26, 1949 | White Mob Lynches Ernest Thomas, Member of Groveland Four
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On this day in 1946, two Black couples were lynched in Walton County, Georgia. Even with a federal investigation, no one was ever held accountable.
Jul. 25, 1946 | White Mob Lynches Two Black Couples in Walton County, Georgia
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On this day in 1972, a D.C. newspaper exposed an ongoing 40-year syphilis experiment that withheld diagnosis information and treatment from Black men in Alabama to study the disease's effects.
Jul. 24, 1972 | Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment Exposed by Washington Star Newspaper
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On this day in 1942, the governor of Alabama refused to aid in the war effort if it required integration, choosing instead to maintain segregated work practices.
Jul. 23, 1942 | Alabama Refuses to Aid in War Effort if Any Form of Racial Integration Is Required
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On this day in 1899, a white mob abducted Frank Embree from officers transporting him to stand trial and lynched him in front of a crowd of over 1,000 people in Fayette, Missouri.
Jul. 22, 1899 | White Mob Lynches Frank Embree Hours Before Trial in Fayette, Missouri
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On this day in 1913, 35 Black men at a segregated prison camp in Mississippi burned to death when the neglected dormitory they were locked into at night caught fire.
Jul. 21, 1913 | 35 Black People Burn to Death in Mississippi Prison Camp
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On this day in 1805, the Mississippi Territory passed “An Act to Prevent the Liberation of Slaves,” which barred enslavers from freeing enslaved people except in extraordinary cases.
Jul. 20, 1805 | Mississippi Territory Passes “Act to Prevent the Liberation of Slaves”
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On this day in 1919, a mob of white men moved through a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., gathering weapons and beating Black residents, starting a campaign of terror that would continue for days.
Jul. 19, 1919 | White Mob Terrorizes Black D.C. Residents During Red Summer
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On this day in 1946, Maceo Snipes was lynched in Taylor County, Georgia, for voting in a recent election. His relatives later faced threats and fled the region in fear.
Jul. 18, 1946 | Black Veteran Maceo Snipes Fatally Shot After Voting in Georgia Primary
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Last week, a federal appeals court ruled that Florida’s “Stop WOKE” law—which bars professors from discussing topics related to race and gender in the classroom—violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech.
Federal Appeals Court Rules Florida Classroom Censorship Law Is Unconstitutional
Florida’s “Stop WOKE” law violates the First Amendment
eji.org
On this day in 1956, to undermine the local bus boycott against segregation, the City Commission in Tallahassee, Florida, ordered a crackdown on drivers who volunteered to carpool Black residents.
Jul. 17, 1956 | Tallahassee City Commission Cracks Down on Carpooling for Black Residents
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On this day in 1944, 27-year-old Irene Morgan was traveling by bus from Virginia to Baltimore when she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger.
Jul. 16, 1944 | Irene Morgan Arrested in VA for Refusing to Give Up Seat for White Passenger
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On this day in 1954, the U.S. government staged mass deportations across the Southwest. By the end of the campaign, thousands of people had been deported, including many in the country legally and even some U.S. citizens.
Jul. 15, 1954 | U.S. Government Stages Mass Deportations in the American Southwest
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On this day in 1959, a fashion show committee in New York removed all Black models from planned scenes in an upcoming show after editors protested depictions of racially integrated groups.
Jul. 14, 1959 | Black Models Cut From Fashion Show After Editors Protest Racial Integration
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Jeffery Floyd died by suicide in an Alabama Correctional Facility on May 1. Concern mounts that these tragic deaths may continue as state officials seem unmotivated to improve monitoring practices of at-risk populations and even deny the problem.
The Continuing Tragedy of Death by Suicide in Alabama’s Prisons
The suicide of Jeffery Floyd adds to the already staggering number of deaths.
eji.org
On this day in 1929, more than 200 Black residents of North Platte, Nebraska, were terrorized by a white mob and forced to flee, leaving behind their homes forever.
Jul. 13, 1929 | White Mob Forces 200 Black People Out of North Platte, Nebraska
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