Samuel L. Jones was in hiding from white supremacists. His friend, Dr. Calvin P. Davis, stationed 25 armed Black men around Jones's home. What made Jones a target?
In 1919, the Chicago Defender published an article about a lynching in Longview, Texas. White supremacists then attacked their reporters. Samuel Jones was also in their crosshairs as the Defender distributor for Longview.
On July 10, a white mob surrounded Jones by the courthouse and beat him. Jones escaped, and appealed to Davis for help. Davis devised a plan to hide Jones at a relative's house. Then Davis's men would ambush the mob at Jones’s home.
A dozen whites attacked Jones's home, with Davis's defense firing back. Several of the attackers were wounded and forced to retreat. But then they came back with reinforcements. They burned Jones's home to the ground, but Davis and his men were able to escape what became known as the Longview Riot.
Samuel Jones survived because his community stood up for him as he had for them. Actors of white supremacy hate when we resist and will violently display it. But we can't back down. We must always have each other's backs cause we all we got.