Brownsville Affair
Encyclopedia
The Brownsville Affair was a racial incident that arose out of tensions between black soldiers and white citizens in Brownsville, Texas
, in 1906. When a white bartender was killed and a police officer wounded by gunshot, townspeople accused the members of the 25th Regiment, an all-black unit stationed at nearby Fort Brown
. Although commanders said the soldiers had been in the barracks all night, evidence was planted against them.
As a result of an Army Inspector General's investigation, President Theodore Roosevelt
ordered the dishonorable discharge of 167 soldiers of the 25th Regiment, costing them pensions and preventing them from serving in civil service jobs. A renewed investigation in the early 1970s proved the men innocent. The government pardoned them and restored their records to show honorable discharges but did not provide compensation to survivors and descendants.
.
Since arriving at Fort Brown, the black soldiers had been subject to intense racial discrimination from the white citizens of Brownsville. As a result of these racial tensions, a fight broke out between a black soldier and a local Brownsville merchant. The city of Brownsville barred members of the 25th U.S. Regiment from setting foot in the city again.
Captain Bill McDonald of the Texas Rangers
investigated 12 enlisted men and tried to tie the case to them. The local county court did not return any indictments based on his investigation, but residents kept up complaints about the black soldiers of the 25th.
At the recommendation of the Army's Inspector General, the U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
ordered 167 of the black troops dishonorably discharged because of their "conspiracy of silence
". This dishonorable discharge prevented the 167 men from ever working in a military or civil service capacity. Some of the black soldiers had been in the U.S. Army for over twenty years, while others were extremely close to retirement with pensions, which they lost.
The prominent educator and activist, Booker T. Washington
, got involved and asked President Roosevelt to reconsider his decision in the affair. Roosevelt instead dismissed Washington's plea and allowed his decision to stand.
, blacks noted that Roosevelt had invited Booker T. Washington to a White House dinner, and had spoken out publicly against lynching
), began to turn against him. The administration withheld news of the discharge of the soldiers until after the 1906 Congressional elections, so that the pro-Republican black vote would not be affected. The case became a political football, with William Howard Taft, positioning for the next candidacy for presidency, trying to avoid trouble.
Leaders of major black organizations, such as the Constitution League, the National Association of Colored Women
, and the Niagara Movement
tried to persuade the administration not to discharge the soldiers, but were unsuccessful. From 1907-1908, the US Senate Military Affairs Committee investigated the Brownsville Affair, and the majority in March 1908 reached the same conclusion as Roosevelt. Senator Joseph B. Foraker
of Ohio had lobbied for the investigation and filed a minority report in support of the soldiers' innocence. Another minority report by four Republicans concluded that the evidence was too inconclusive to support the discharges. In September 1908 W.E.B. Du Bois
urged blacks to register to vote and to remember their treatment by the Republican administration when it was time to vote for president.
Feelings across the nation remained high against the government actions, but with Taft's election as president, Roosevelt's resignation and Foraker's failure to win re-election, some of the political pressure declined. A 1910 Court of Military Inquiry undertook an examination of the soldiers' bids for re-enlistment, in view of the Senate committee's reports, but its members interviewed only about one-half of the soldiers discharged. It accepted 14 for re-enlistment, and eleven re-entered the Army.
The government did not re-examine the case until the early 1970s.
of Los Angeles introduced a bill to have the Defense Department re-investigate the matter to provide justice to the accused soldiers.
In 1972, the Army found the accused members of the 25th Regiment innocent. At its recommendations, President Richard M. Nixon pardoned the men and awarded them honorable discharges without backpay. These were generally issued posthumously, as there were only two surviving soldiers: one had re-enlisted in 1910. In 1973, due to actions of Hawkins and Senator Hubert Humphrey, the Congress passed a tax-free compensation for the last survivor, Dorrie Willis, who received $25,000. He was honored in ceremonies in Washington, DC and Los Angeles.
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
, in 1906. When a white bartender was killed and a police officer wounded by gunshot, townspeople accused the members of the 25th Regiment, an all-black unit stationed at nearby Fort Brown
Fort Brown
Fort Brown was a military post of the United States Army in Texas during the later half of 19th century and the early part of the 20th century.-Early years:...
. Although commanders said the soldiers had been in the barracks all night, evidence was planted against them.
As a result of an Army Inspector General's investigation, President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
ordered the dishonorable discharge of 167 soldiers of the 25th Regiment, costing them pensions and preventing them from serving in civil service jobs. A renewed investigation in the early 1970s proved the men innocent. The government pardoned them and restored their records to show honorable discharges but did not provide compensation to survivors and descendants.
Background
The Brownsville Affair arose out of racial tensions between the white residents of Brownsville, Texas, and the black infantrymen of the 25th Infantry Regiment (United States) at nearby Fort BrownFort Brown
Fort Brown was a military post of the United States Army in Texas during the later half of 19th century and the early part of the 20th century.-Early years:...
.
Since arriving at Fort Brown, the black soldiers had been subject to intense racial discrimination from the white citizens of Brownsville. As a result of these racial tensions, a fight broke out between a black soldier and a local Brownsville merchant. The city of Brownsville barred members of the 25th U.S. Regiment from setting foot in the city again.
August 13, 1906
On the night of August 13, 1906, gunshots killed a white bartender and wounded a white police officer in the town. Immediately the residents of Brownsville cast the blame on the black soldiers of the 25th Regiment at Fort Brown. The soldiers of the 25th Regiment were accused of the shootings, but the all-white commanders at Fort Brown confirmed that all of the soldiers were in their barracks at the time of the shootings. Local whites, including Brownsville's mayor, still claimed that some of the black soldiers participated in the shooting.The evidence
Local townspeople of Brownsville began providing "evidence" of the 25th Regiment's part in the shooting by producing spent bullet cartridges from Army rifles which they said belonged to the 25th's men. Despite the contradictory evidence that demonstrated the spent shells were planted in order to frame men of the 25th Regiment's role in the shootings, investigators accepted the statements of the local whites and the Brownsville mayor.The results
When soldiers of the 25th Regiment were pressured to name who fired the shots, they insisted that they had no idea who had committed the crime. The soldiers were not given any type of hearing, trial, or the opportunity to confront their accusers (all rights guaranteed to U.S. citizens in the Constitution).Captain Bill McDonald of the Texas Rangers
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
investigated 12 enlisted men and tried to tie the case to them. The local county court did not return any indictments based on his investigation, but residents kept up complaints about the black soldiers of the 25th.
At the recommendation of the Army's Inspector General, the U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
ordered 167 of the black troops dishonorably discharged because of their "conspiracy of silence
Conspiracy of silence (expression)
The expression conspiracy of silence, or culture of silence, relates to a condition or matter which is known to exist, but by tacit communal unspoken consensus is not talked about or acknowledged. Commonly such matters are considered culturally shameful...
". This dishonorable discharge prevented the 167 men from ever working in a military or civil service capacity. Some of the black soldiers had been in the U.S. Army for over twenty years, while others were extremely close to retirement with pensions, which they lost.
The prominent educator and activist, Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, got involved and asked President Roosevelt to reconsider his decision in the affair. Roosevelt instead dismissed Washington's plea and allowed his decision to stand.
Congress steps in
Blacks and many whites across the United States were outraged at the actions of President Roosevelt. The black community, which had previously supported the Republican president (in addition to their loyalty to the party of Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, blacks noted that Roosevelt had invited Booker T. Washington to a White House dinner, and had spoken out publicly against lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
), began to turn against him. The administration withheld news of the discharge of the soldiers until after the 1906 Congressional elections, so that the pro-Republican black vote would not be affected. The case became a political football, with William Howard Taft, positioning for the next candidacy for presidency, trying to avoid trouble.
Leaders of major black organizations, such as the Constitution League, the National Association of Colored Women
National Association of Colored Women
The National Association of Colored Women Clubs was established in Washington, D.C., USA, by the merger in 1896 of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, the Women's Era Club of Boston, and the National League of Colored Women of Washington, DC, as well as smaller organizations that had...
, and the Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
tried to persuade the administration not to discharge the soldiers, but were unsuccessful. From 1907-1908, the US Senate Military Affairs Committee investigated the Brownsville Affair, and the majority in March 1908 reached the same conclusion as Roosevelt. Senator Joseph B. Foraker
Joseph B. Foraker
Joseph Benson Foraker was a Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the 37th Governor of Ohio from 1886 to 1890.-Early life:...
of Ohio had lobbied for the investigation and filed a minority report in support of the soldiers' innocence. Another minority report by four Republicans concluded that the evidence was too inconclusive to support the discharges. In September 1908 W.E.B. Du Bois
W.E.B. Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, and editor. Born in Massachusetts, Du Bois attended Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate...
urged blacks to register to vote and to remember their treatment by the Republican administration when it was time to vote for president.
Feelings across the nation remained high against the government actions, but with Taft's election as president, Roosevelt's resignation and Foraker's failure to win re-election, some of the political pressure declined. A 1910 Court of Military Inquiry undertook an examination of the soldiers' bids for re-enlistment, in view of the Senate committee's reports, but its members interviewed only about one-half of the soldiers discharged. It accepted 14 for re-enlistment, and eleven re-entered the Army.
The government did not re-examine the case until the early 1970s.
Justice in 1970s
In 1970, John D. Weaver published The Brownsville Raid, which investigated the affair in depth. Weaver argued that the accused members of the 25th Regiment were innocent. After reading his book, Congressman Augustus F. HawkinsAugustus F. Hawkins
Augustus Freeman "Gus" Hawkins was a prominent African American Democratic Party politician and a figure in the history of Civil Rights and organized labor. He served as the first African American from California in the United States Congress, where he sponsored the Humphrey-Hawkins Full...
of Los Angeles introduced a bill to have the Defense Department re-investigate the matter to provide justice to the accused soldiers.
In 1972, the Army found the accused members of the 25th Regiment innocent. At its recommendations, President Richard M. Nixon pardoned the men and awarded them honorable discharges without backpay. These were generally issued posthumously, as there were only two surviving soldiers: one had re-enlisted in 1910. In 1973, due to actions of Hawkins and Senator Hubert Humphrey, the Congress passed a tax-free compensation for the last survivor, Dorrie Willis, who received $25,000. He was honored in ceremonies in Washington, DC and Los Angeles.
In popular culture
The History Channel included an episode entitled "Discharged Without Honor: The Brownsville Raid" (2000) in its History's Mysteries.Further reading
- Garna L. Christian, "The Brownsville Raid's 168th Man: The Court-Martial of Corporal Knowles," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 93 (July 1989).
- Ann J. Lane, The Brownsville Affair: National Crisis and Black Reaction (Port Washington, New York: National University Publications, Kennikat Press, 1971).
- New York Times, September 29, 1972.