It’s true I write about civil rights on my blog often. This entry on the Carroll County Courthouse Massacre (Carroll County, Mississippi) is in that vein, too. Why? Because most readers have no idea how deeply-rooted this issue is in American history. The country has witnessed far more massacres and killings than most of us can imagine.

It’s unfortunate that people don’t realize the depth and breadth of the nation’s racist history. If you’ve never learned about it, you don’t know how bad the problem is, so people ignore it and downplay it. And if the current Republican Party has its way, you never will learn it, either.

What Happened in the Carroll County Courthouse Massacre?

The event is as pure an example as exists of how the U.S. has valued the lives of African Americans historically. The inciting incident barely even registers as an incident. Two brothers, Ed and Charley Brown, were delivering molasses to a saloon in January. The brothers were part black and part Native American. In the process, they accidentally spilled some on a white man, Robert Moore. A small argument followed but was resolved.

Things should have ended at that point. But they didn’t. Nearly a month later a friend of Moore, James Liddell, decided to confront the Brown brothers. Predictably, he accused them of spilling on Moore purposefully. Another argument followed. Some punches resulted, but bystanders broke up the argument. But Liddell wasn’t done. Later that evening, he confronted the Browns a second time. Shooting resulted. All three suffered injuries.

Then the unthinkable happened. The Browns pressed charges against Liddell for attempted murder.

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The Trial

In 2022, it’s hard for a modern reader to imagine the outrage of 1886 Mississippi. African Americans accusing whites of breaking the law in court simply did not happen. From the white perspective, it could not be allowed to happen. The near-universal belief was that freedom from slavery resulted in an exponential increase in crime and lawlessness among blacks. Most Southerners, however paradoxically, simultaneously regarded African Americans as both childlike simpletons and potentially dangerous criminals. Whites deemed it intolerable for the Browns to step outside this imposed image and portray themselves as assertive and aggrieved.

What happened at the trial was pure carnage. When it began on March 17 of 1886, about fifty armed whites stormed the courthouse and opened fire. The Browns were targets, of course, but so were all other African Americans present to see what would happen. Some tried to escape by jumping out of windows. But more armed whites had gathered outside. They fired upon those trying to flee the courthouse.

Twenty-three African Americans died immediately in the massacre. Both Brown brothers were murdered. It remains unknown how many blacks later died from their wounds. Not a single white was injured.

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The Aftermath of the Carroll County Courthouse Massacre

This makes particularly grim reading. No one faced arrest for the murders at the Carroll County Courthouse Massacre. The governor of Mississippi, Robert Lowry, declared that the violence was because of the “conduct of the Negroes.” Despite modest public outcry, President Grover Cleveland would not authorize a federal investigation. Even after former Mississippi senator Blanche Bruce (an African American) called for federal action, Cleveland declined. Local authorities would not investigate. The Haymarket Affair happened less than two months later, shifting national attention to Chicago. The nation forgot. Once again, African Americans suffered a kick to the face with no chance at justice.

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