Slocum, Texas

Slocum
Unincorporated community
Slocum
Slocum

Location within the state of Texas

Coordinates: 31°37′53″N 95°27′44″W / 31.63139°N 95.46222°W / 31.63139; -95.46222Coordinates: 31°37′53″N 95°27′44″W / 31.63139°N 95.46222°W / 31.63139; -95.46222
Country United States
State Texas
County Anderson
Government
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)

Slocum is an unincorporated community in southeast Anderson County, Texas, in the United States. It has a population of approximately 250.

Schools

The Slocum Independent School District serves area students who attend Slocum High School and Slocum Elementary School. It is a very small school that as of 2014- 2015 has around 500 students in the grades k-12.

Fire department

Slocum, Texas has one volunteer fire department. The VFD holds an annual BBQ and school reunion to raise money to provide for the needs of the fire department.

Post offices

There is no post office in Slocum. The nearest post office is in Elkhart located 7 miles from Slocum.

The Slocum Massacre

On July 29, 1910, eight or possibly many more[1][2] African Americans were murdered by an all-white mob of two to three hundred. Although the exact number of residents slaughtered is unknown, estimates are that more likely some two hundred people were killed. (Source Needed)[2] Before the massacre, the majority of Slocum's several hundred residents were black; afterward, many black residents of Slocum fled the town and left behind real estate, homes, and other assets.[3]

Several events may have sparked the attacks. After a black person was lynched nearby, rumors spread among whites that blacks were planning revenge. Also, a scuffle broke out over a business disagreement between a white and black resident, and many accounts say a man named James Spurger instigated events by claiming he was threatened by blacks.[3]

Once the attacks began, Anderson County Sheriff W. H. Black reported, "Men were going about killing Negroes as fast as they could find them, and, so far as I was able to ascertain, without any real cause".[2] All known victims were unarmed and most were shot in the back;[3] no whites were injured.[4]

Spurger, Reagon McKenzie, S. F. Jennings, and at least 13 other white men were arrested for the attacks,[5] but none were ever tried. Seven of the men were taken to be tried in Harris County but were released without trial.[6] The victims' land and possessions were also seized.[3]

On January 16, 2016, a roadside marker commemorating the victims was unveiled by their descendants. The marker was sought by Constance Hollie-Jawaid, a Dallas school district administrator whose great-grandfather, John Holley, was among the victims. After the massacre, the family changed the spelling of its surname. Jimmy Odom, chairman of the Anderson County Historical Commission, said that the citizens of Slocum today had nothing to do with what happened in 1910: "This is a nice, quiet community with a wonderful school system. It would be a shame to mark them as racist from now until the end of time."[1] Despite his position, Odom attended the unveiling of the marker.[1]

Sources

References

  1. 1 2 3 Tim Madigan (January 16, 2016). "Texas marks racial slaughter more than a century later". Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Cavalry to Quell Outbreak in Texas". The New York Times. 1910-08-01. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Madigan, Tim (2011-02-27). "A century later, Texas race massacre forgotten by all but a few". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The McClatchy Company. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
  4. ↑ "Score of Negroes Killed by Whites". The New York Times. 1910-07-31. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
  5. ↑ "More Texas Riot Arrests". The New York Times. 1910-08-07. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
  6. ↑ https://zinnedproject.org/2014/07/slocum-massacre/
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