1901-1920

Niagara Movement

A man named Du Bois created an organization called the Niagara Movement. The group demanded a manifesto that demanded the rights of black people to vote, to not be segregated in public transportation or discriminated against elsewhere. They also demanded that the blacks should enjoy all those liberties white citizens enjoyed. The movement suffered from organizational weakness and lack of funds as well as a permanent headquarters or staff. The group was revived but then went on to disband in 1911.

The Brownsville Affair

The Brownsville Affair was a racial event that happened because of tension between whites in Brownsville, Texas and African American soldiers at Fort Brown. The soldiers had been racially discriminated against when they arrived at Fort Brown. On August, 13 a shooting occurred leaving a white bartender dead and a police officer wounded. Local whites claimed they had seen soldiers firing. None of the soldiers confessed tho who did the crime. The president ordered 167 black soldiers to leave their positions.