Lumbees celebrate routing of the KKK
North Carolina:
The Lumbee Tribe will honor surviving American Indians who chased the Ku Klux Klan from Robeson County in 1958.
“I am excited [to] honor the Lumbee warriors who helped rid the county of a message of bigotry and hate,”
said Tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins.
“I hope everyone brings their children so that the oral tradition and stories will be passed on.”
From 1957-1958, the KKK threatened Lumbee Indians by leaving burning crosses in their yards. One was a Lumbee woman they claimed was having an affair with a white man.
When Klan leader James Cole planned a rally at Hayes Mill Pond, city and government officials and Lumbee Indians asked the Klan to hold the rally elsewhere. They refused, predicting that 5,000 Klansmen would be
at the rally. However, only 50 showed. As Cole began to speak, a Lumbee man shot out the bulb providing
the light. Then dozens of American Indians fired weapons into the air. The Klansmen fled into the woods, leaving behind their public address system, unlit cross and various regalia.
Cole was later arrested for inciting a riot and appeared before Lacy Maynor, the only Indian judge in Robeson County. He was sentenced to a year in prison.
The incident received national television and print coverage, including coverage in Life magazine.
photo and article:
www.indianz.com
