Location of Attack on Samuel L. Jones

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Just away from the Gregg County Courthouse, this was the location where Samuel L Jones was attacked by the two brothers of the woman lynching victim Lemuel Walters had been dating. Although Jones denied any connection to the article that exposed the romance and the false charges against the late Walters, the two brothers of Walters' lover used violence to seek their revenge on Jones as they believed he was the one who revealed the facts about their sister's relationship and its connection to the lynching of Walters. The Longview Race Riot commenced shortly following the attack on Samuel Jones as a white mob gathered and went to Jones's home. In the weeks leading up to the violence, Black leaders had led a movement that inspired many Black farmers to sell their cotton directly to brokers in Galveston instead of through local white merchants in Longview.

Images

Photo from 1919 of Black men and national guard members during Chicago race riots outside the Ogden Cafe | Chicago History Museum

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The attack on Jones occurred in a public location on July 10, 1919. This initial attack was followed up by the attack on Jones's home and after it was set ablaze along with other African American homes and businesses, a domino effect erupted in general violence and the event known as the Longview Race Riot. While our tour's previous locations encompassed places and spaces in the Black community, this would have been a high traffic area for both white and Black citizens. As a result, the significance of the location Jones where Jones was assaulted and injured is significant because it is a place where he and other Black residents should have felt safe.

Following the attack, Jones did not seek or receive protection or help from the police but he did appeal to the mayor and was advised to leave town instead of being protected. In response, community leaders like Dr. Calvin Davis assisted Jones and other members of the local Black community gathered at his home to try to protect it and his family.

Sources

Durham, Ken. (2020) Longview Race Riot of 1919.” TSHA, 2020.

Evans, Glenn, and Les Hassell. (2020). News-Journal Photo. “Longview's Deadly 1919 Race Riot: Passed down Memories, No Markers.” Longview News Journal.

Glasrud, B.A. (2015). Anti-Black Violence in Twentieth-Century Texas. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

“Hundreds of Black Americans Were Killed during 'Red Summer.' A Century Later, Still Ignored.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 24 July 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/23/racial-violence-red-summer-1919-witnessed-white-black-murder/1802371001/.