150 years after Memphis massacre, marker shows struggle

"On May 1, 2 and 3, 1866, mobs of white men led by law enforcement attacked black people," reads the placard, placed during a ceremony this month in a tree-lined park just steps from where the violence started.

By the end of the attack, the mobs had killed an estimated 46 black people; raped several black women; and committed numerous robberies, assaults and arsons.

The marker represents a significant step for a city and state that haven't been eager to come to terms with their history of race relations, but it went up amid disagreement with state officials over whether what happened was a race riot or simply the wholesale slaughter of innocent people.

The city's four black churches and 12 black schools — along with dozens of other buildings — were burned in the massacre, according to a congressional committee that took testimony in the days after the event from about 170 witnesses, many of them black victims.

Historians say that while no one was prosecuted, the massacre caused the nation to reconsider Reconstruction policies and helped lead to the passage of the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," including freed slaves.

E. Patrick McIntyre, Jr., executive director for the Tennessee Historical Commission, referred questions to appointed commission members, who did not respond to The Associated Press.

The massacre should also be seen in the context of recent conflicts, such as the deaths of black men during confrontations with police officers in New York, South Carolina and Missouri; the mass shooting at a black church in Charleston; and efforts to eradicate Confederate symbols, Aluko said.

"Too few people know about incidents like the Memphis massacre where law enforcement led the mob into the African-American community," she said.