Reverend T.L. Griffith of Corinthian Baptist Church delivered an address to “almost all of the city’s approximately 600 negroes” in response to the Atlanta Race Riot of 1906. In his address, he acknowledged the wrongs to the Black community and called on the audience to stand for the betterment of the community, urging restraint in the face of terrible news emerging from Atlanta. Griffith called out the lack of protection for Black women and the evil of denying Black children an education.
Reverend Griffith maintained that Black citizens were victims of taxation without representation, paying precious dollars into a system that offers very little in return, citing lack of representation in government and lack of access to education and other rights afforded under the 14th amendment. In June of 1907, Dr. William Beckham of the Negro Baptist Publishing House supported Griffith’s statement, citing that nationally, 1 million Negro farmers paid $1 billion in property taxes, $20M of which goes to education, but only 10 schools of law & medicine accepting Black students at the time.
Sources: Des Moines Register Archives October 8, 1906 p 2
Des Moines Register Archives, June 3, 1907 p 5
Research Credit: Evelynn Coffie
Black history research collective 