Slocum massacre

31°37′53″N 95°27′44″W / 31.63139°N 95.46222°W / 31.63139; -95.46222

The Slocum massacre was the killing of Black residents by Whites on July 29–30, 1910, in Slocum, an unincorporated community in Anderson County near Palestine in East Texas. Only seven deaths were officially confirmed, but some 22 were reported by major newspapers. This is the official count, but it is estimated that as many as one hundred African Americans were killed.^[1]

Historians have offered several explanations for the sparking of the riot and massacre by whites. At the time, rumors placed responsibility on the blacks, saying that whites had armed in response to accounts of blacks planning a race war. The whites from the mob did their best to destroy any local evidence against them. African Americans appealed to higher levels of government for a fair investigation, but little to nothing was done on their behalf. As a result, the African-American population in Slocum declined drastically, as many left in fear for their lives.