Editing Blackwell demonstrations
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
− | + | A '''race riot''' took place on [[February 24]], [[1976]] on the grounds of the [[Escambia County Sheriff's Office]] after nearly 500 African-Americans gathered to protest [[Escambia County Sheriff|Sheriff]] [[Royal Untreiner]]'s refusal to discipline Deputy [[Doug Raines]], who had shot and killed a young black motorist, [[Wendel Blackwell]], on [[December 22]], [[1975]]. Untreiner said the shooting was justifiable because Blackwell possessed a handgun, but some eyewitnesses claimed Raines had planted the gun after the fact. | |
− | A ''' | ||
− | + | Several local [[civil rights]] leaders, including [[B. J. Brooks]] of the [[NAACP]] and [[H. K. Matthews]] of the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]], organized demonstrations in [[downtown Pensacola]], boycotted local stores, and met with Governor [[Reubin Askew]] to discuss the situation. | |
− | On [[February | + | On February 24, just a few weeks after the [[February 5]] [[Escambia High School riots|riot]] at [[Escambia High School]] in which four people were shot, a crowd of nearly 500 gathered outside the Sheriff's headquarters and began repeating protest chants. Rev. [[Jimmie Lee Savage]] reportedly led demonstrators in the chant, "Two, four, six, eight, who shall we incarcerate? Untreiner, Raines, the whole damn bunch!" |
− | Sheriff Untreiner, hearing | + | Sheriff Untreiner, apparently hearing the word "assassinate" instead of "incarcerate," ordered the crowd to disband. When they did not leave the premises immediately, he sent seventy deputies with nightclubs into their midst. |
− | In the ensuing | + | In the ensuing melee, several protestors were injured. Thirty-four adults (including Matthews and Brooks) and thirteen juveniles were arrested on misdemeanor charges of unlawful assembly and malicious trespass. Three days later, felony extortion counts were added to the Matthews and Brooks charges, due to the alleged "assassinate" chant. |
− | |||
− | Three days later, felony extortion counts were added to the Matthews and Brooks charges, due to the alleged "assassinate" chant | ||
− | |||
− | |||
{{blackhistory-stub}} | {{blackhistory-stub}} | ||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Line 23: | Line 15: | ||
*Walter C. Rucker and James N. Upton. ''Encyclopedia of American Race Riots: Greenwood Milestones in African American History''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. | *Walter C. Rucker and James N. Upton. ''Encyclopedia of American Race Riots: Greenwood Milestones in African American History''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. | ||
{{refend}} | {{refend}} | ||
− | |||
[[Category:Demonstrations & unrest]] | [[Category:Demonstrations & unrest]] |