Why Did A University Hide This Violent Act Of Public Humiliation?

Photograph of Courtney Brothers Tarred and Feathered
Via Digital Commons
Leslie Taylor-Grover
April 12, 2021

The Courtney brothers were good students, by all accounts. They kept to themselves, did their work, and were model citizens. That’s what makes what happened to them even worse!

One morning, as they sat studying, a group of University of Maine students attacked the brothers. Though they were outnumbered, the brothers fought back, soundly whipping three and four racists at a time. As usual, when white agitators meet Black excellence, foolishness ensues.

The crowd of thugs grabbed the brothers, stripped them naked, and wiped them down with tar. Then they threw feathers on the Courtneys. Of course, the noise alerted the police, but when they showed up, they did absolutely NOTHING. It gets worse.

The University hid the crime, too. Even the local news only gave this act of terrorism a brief mention. Worse yet, it was the first incident of many that would put our people in danger as white hoodlums attacked and rioted against our people in 1919’s “Red Summer.”

As this case demonstrates, white terrorism doesn’t care where our people are or what we’re doing – and even in cases where we are attacked, we are frequently punished instead of our attackers. We must always remember that these attacks are American history, but that we can fight to change the future!

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