While the Freedmen's Bureau investigated the charges, it ultimately left the case in the hands of racist local officials who, they noted, were unlikely to prosecute the offender.

"There was another white man near by," the school commissioner explained, "but he 'didn't see' it of course. Our state laws afford no protection to this class of people, and the failure of the 'Freedman's bureau bill' leaves them in a pitiable state indeed."

The unnamed Black woman teacher was apparently knocked unconscious by her white assailant, the local school commissioner reported, "remaining for sometime in an insensible state!"

The Black petitioners concluded that their commitment to the rule of law, their right to have a say in the distribution of their tax dollars, & their demand for equality in the judicial system "are the basis upon which we predicate our claim for suffrage, & civil equality before the law."

Black Washingtonians pointed out that "without the right of suffrage, we are without protection, & liable to Combinations of outrage" from "officers of the law" who "naturally defer to the one having a vote" which "operates greatly to the disadvantage of the colored citizen."

"Out of a [Black] population of less than 15000," they wrote, "we have contributed three full regiments, over 3500 enlisted men, while the white citizens out of a population of upwards 60000 sent only about 1500 enlisted men for the support of the Union, the Constitution & the Laws."

They explained that Black Washingtonians are "property holders... pay[ing] no inconsiderable amount of taxes; but are nevertheless as slaves to its distribution, unlike other tax-payers they see the proceeds of their labor taken & disposed of without a single voice."

After fighting to destroy slavery, Turner explained, "We the colored people have done all we could to aid the government, in her hour of need, & now our services are no longer needed, our women may suffer hunger—when it is in the hands of the agents relieve their wants—simply bc [they] are black."

After testifying abt the denial of food assistance to Black mothers, Turner concluded that "It certainly must be a great crime to be a Negro, I cannot view it in any other light."

The Black woman, Turner wrote, "has a large family of little ones, & she is their sole support." "I know her to be an industrious hard striving woman," he attested, but "she cannot get any aid, from the subsistence agent here, because she is not white" & bc her husband had fought for the Union.

Refusing their abuse, Sergt. Brown replied "you cant kill me," after which the cops began beating him with their clubs. "they thru me down," he testified, "and stamped me in the back while lying on the ground."

The attack began, Brown explained, as "I was sitting in my own door on Sunday night the 10″ of Sept., about dark. And a policeman who lives opposite to me on corner Brown-Avenue & Causey Streets Named Sweatt. said to me I wish I could get a chance to kill all the Damned N****r Soldiers."

The Freedmen and Southern Society Project is a terrific resource and everyone should use it!

Also, we're in the process of updating our web presence & dramatically expanding our online resources. If you use our collections in your teaching, we would *love* to hear from you as we advance & refine this digitization project.

Keywords for Black Louisiana give firsthand accounts of Black Louisianans during the colonial era.

Slavery, Law, & Power provides documents in the fight against slavery from the colonial era.

The Colored Conventions Project provides documents produced by Black organizers demanding abolition and civil rights from the 1830s through the 1890s.

The Civil War & Reconstruction Governors of Mississippi likewise contains important first-hand accounts relating to the ideas & experiences of Black Mississippians.