columbia race riots Essay

Submitted By Brice-Adkins
Words: 687
Pages: 3

New Reports about the Columbia Race Riots
The Columbia Race rights happened in February 25 through February 26 of 1946. It was a period in America that was defined by various violent outbreaks featuring various forms of racial segregation. African American during this period were not living in peace. Mink Side which was a neighborhood specifically for blacks was filled with terrified citizens scared for their life. There was a dispute that led to the Columbia Race Rights. This dispute was between Gladys Stephensons and her son, James Stephensons against a white man who worked at the Castner Knott store over a broken radio. The incident has seemed to come to a resolution until four Columbia patrolman came to Mink Slide. When the officers arrived unexpected shots were fired, which caused this whole outbreak to begin. This became news known all over, Nationwide. While white citizens and African American citizens believe the Columbia riot occurred in a different manner and for different reasons it was still a tragic moment in the Civil Rights Movement that were portrayed differently by the National Globe and Columbia Daily Harrold which were two of the most popular newspapers in the Nashville, Columbia area. The Nashville Globe accused the competing newspaper at the time of making the story biased. The Globe reported the story of how the riots began by saying, “On Monday the mother and son were in the Castner Knott store on Columbia’s public square. Then the mother had words with a white radio repair man of the firm about her radio in which she disputed his claim that the radio had been repaired. A fight ensued resulting in the mother being beaten and knocked down. The boy and mother fought back, which resulted in the young white man getting knocked through a glass window, and injured by the broken glass. Shortly thereafter, policemen came and arrested the mother and her son but did not arrest the white man… fearing the mother and son would be taken out to be lynched got both of jail on bond amounting to over three thousand dollars.” The globe reported how African American citizens of Columbia believed their rights were taken from them because officers ransacked through their homes. They also accused publishers of not reporting racial stories never being published if they were not biased. NAACP later put out a bulletin explaining facts about the riots. The Nashville Globe makes the colored men out to be heroes who put their life at risk to prevent Whites from lynching another victim. The Columbia Daily Herald which was a media that reported for a predominately white audience released a story about Gladys like The