In 1869 Abram Colby was a passionate politician serving on Georgia’s House of Representatives. As upcoming elections approached the KKK feared Colby’s influence over local Black communities.
The Klan tried bribing Colby to encourage his community to vote for their candidate. Colby couldn’t be bought – and the Klan violently retaliated.
Storming Colby’s home the Klan violently kidnapped him in front of his family – literally scaring Colby’s daughter to death! Dragging Colby to the woods they took turns whipping him, but Colby stayed resilient.
5,000 lashes later, they left Colby for dead.
Unbelievably, he survived.
Three years later, Colby was asked by a Congressional Committee to testify about his assault. He bravely identified his assailants, and stated:
“I have never [gotten] over [the attack]. They broke something inside of me. I cannot do any work now, though I always made my living before.”
Colby, like many of us, was a racial trauma survivor. All levels of white supremacy are traumatic and deeply impact our mental health.
Like Colby we must defy white supremacy as best we can, but also be honest about when we’re feeling triggered by white supremacy and seek support from our community.
No one should battle white supremacy alone. If you’re reading this, you are deeply loved.