February 2nd: Black Historical Figures and Activists Part One

TW: mentions of segregation, racism, verbal attacks, and miscarriage. 

The Harlem Hellfighters

The Harlem Hellfighters were an all-Black U.S regiment formed during World War I. They were the first African-American infantry unit, spending more time in combat then any other American unit. 

These brave men spent 191 days on the front lines alongside the French Army, as well as deployed help to unloading supply ships. 

At the end of the war, the Harlem Hellfighters were the first unit of the British, French, or American Armies to reach the Rhine River. Within the unit, 1,500 men were lost, and their bravery and courage will be remembered. 

The received the nickname “Hollenkampfer” by the Germans, meaning/translating to “Hellfighters” for their determination and bravery. These soldiers were from Harlem, and so the name Harlem Hellfighters took form.

They were wildly celebrated in Europe for their service, however when they returned to America, were met with racism and discrimination.

Jo Ann Robinson

In 1949 in Montgomery, Jo Ann Robinson was verbally attacked by a bus driver for sitting in the front (whites only) section. This story sound familiar? That’s because this very attack has occurred to many Black woman, though their names are often forgotten. Rosa Parks is a well known historical figure, but there were many before her that also deserved to be recognized. Jo Ann Robinson being one of them.

There were two sections on a public bus, the whites only (in the front), and the colored (back of the bus). Jo Ann Robinson was sitting in the front section of the bus, because it was empty. That act of simply sitting down enraged the bus driver, who then proceeded to scream at her. Jo Ann Robinson was terrified that the bus driver’s anger would turn physical, so she left the bus in fear of her own safety. 

Rightfully so, she was outraged at the events that transpired. At the time, civil rights leaders told her this wasn’t just something that happened, no way to change it.

This response was unacceptable for Jo Ann Robinson, so she organized a boycott herself to stand up to the status quo that she was told “was the way things were”. 

I In 1956 in February, a local police officer threw a stone through the window of her house. Not long afterwords, acid was poured on her car by another local police officer. The violence she was treated with got to the point where the governor of Alabama ordered the state police to guard the houses of other civil rights leaders, including Jo Ann Robinson herself. 

The police were the ones attacking and acting violently towards her. Yet the governor had them guard her house as well. Seems logical right? The attacker guards someone from their attackers? /s

Jo Ann Robinson fought against segregation on the transit and buses, though her name is often forgotten despite the work she accomplished. 

Irene Amos Morgan 

Irene Amos Morgan was another Black woman with a similar story to Jo Ann Robinson, however in hers, she go it taken to the Supreme Court.

Irene Amos Morgan was riding a greyhound bus, and unlike the city buses that had a whites and a coloured section, it was a law that a Black person could not sit next to or across from a white person. This means that if the greyhound bus was fill, and a white person got onboard, the Black people would have to stand up and giver their seats to the white person.

In 1944, on July 16th, Irene suffered from a miscarriage. After such a tragic and traumatizing loss, she wanted to go home to her mother, and so she boarded a greyhound bus to get there. Irene Amos Morgan boarded the bus in Virginia, the bus not empty but not full. Irene went to sit in the back of the bus (three rows from the back). After many stops where passengers boarded the bus, the bus seats were filled, and a white couple were left standing.

The bus driver went and told Irene and the other Black woman beside her to get out of their seats to give to the white couple. The other woman got out of her seat, but Irene did not budge. 

Irene told the bus driver that she had paid her money, she was not going to get up. 

The bus driver got a sheriff to come and show Irene an arrest warrant for breaking the law, but Irene shook her head. The sheriff didn’t even know her name, and the warrant didn’t look real. So, she took the arrest warrant and tore it in half, throwing it out the window. 

The sheriff tried to forcibly take Irene off of the bus, and she kicked him in his crotch, causing his to hobble off the bus. Another sheriff came, and Irene’s plan was to bite him, but she noticed he looked dirty and didn’t want to have her lips touch that, so she clawed at him instead. 

When the other sheriff threatened to use his night stick, Irene did not falter and responded “Well we’ll whip each other then.”

This was before the Civil Right Act of 64 and the Voting Act of 65, so after such a defense from Irene, she was arrested. The charges were resisting arrest and violating Virginia’s Jim Crow Transit laws. After 8 hours in the county jail, her mother showed up with $100 for bail. Irene Amos Morgan was convicted after admitting to resisting arrest, and agreed to pay the fine. However, she did not plead guilty to breaking the segregation law. She was convicted anyways and demanded to pay 10$ in fine. 

She said no to that too.

Along with the aid of NAACP, she was able to appeal the conviction all the way to the United States supreme court. It was determined that Virginia’s segregation transit laws were unconditional, extending this ruling to bus terminals used in interstate transit services. 

Despite this, Black people were still being arrested and attacked when and if they tried to enter these facilities and services.

Irene’s legal case inspired the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation: 16 activists from the Chicago based congress of racial equity. These activists rode on interstate buses to test the enforcement of the supreme court ruling by riding the buses through the upper south. They split into two groups, one would ride the greyhound buses while the other rode the Trailways. They would place an interracial pair in the white area of the bus, while the others would disguised themselves and sit throughout the bus.

Irene Amos Morgan’s legal case against transit segregation was named the Morgan Versus Virginia Case, and her determination and resolute influenced the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, as well as many other Black women to speak up.