Kyle Rittenhouse and African American Suffragists

What would have the African American suffragists of the 1890s thought about the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict? They certainly would not have been surprised, but I’ve been thinking about them because I think we can learn from their inspiring determination and dedication to fighting white supremacy. 

Back in the 1890s, many people would have called themselves white supremacists. That must have been infuriating here in Brooklyn, where slavery was abolished in 1827 and we had already defeated the slavers in the Civil War. But the Reconstructionist efforts were dead and lynching was on the rise. 

On a superficial level, these African American women merely looked like social climbers. They dressed in poofy dresses, played classical music, and organized literary societies. But how they reacted to Ida B. Wells is really what’s important. 

In 1892, Ida B. Wells’ press was burnt down by an angry white supremacist mob. She had to leave Memphis because the crowd wanted to lynch her as well. Wells wrote about lynching methodically and used facts as a weapon. But what really enraged the white press was the idea that maybe some white women were attracted to Black men. Lynching had wide support among the white community because of the supposed debased character of African Americans. Newspapers like the Brooklyn Eagle justified lynching because the judicial system was too slow to punish African Americans. 

But the Black church women of Brooklyn and New York were the first to support Ida B. Wells. They raised money for her, and supported her emotionally, intellectually, and organizationally. That’s a big reason why Ida B. Wells moved to Gold Street near Flatbush in Brooklyn in 1892. 

These women, like Maritcha Lyons, would have been very familiar with people like Kyle Rittenhouse who went to a protest looking for violence and then found it, leaving two people dead at his hands. They would have been very familiar with a legal system that acquitted him of all crimes, since lynchers were almost never prosecuted. 

What they might have been shocked at is the support that political leaders give to Rittenshouse. Even back in the 1890s, the openly white supremacist newspaper Brooklyn Eagle was critical of lynching. The white leaders recognized that mob rule was bad. Nowadays, so-called political leaders are glad to follow the leadership of gun-toting killers with a depraved disregard for human life.

I’m writing this today because I want to emphasize that we’re not any smarter or better organized than these women and their fancy art shows. We think our ideas nowadays are new. Supporting mental health initiatives, fighting for better education for minority children, mutual aid groups… all this pales in comparison to what they did. 

It wasn’t until 1920 that women got (almost) universal suffrage. It took decades of organizing to expand voting rights that had been limited by gender. 

Some of the institutions these women founded are still with us. Dr. Susan Smith McKinney played organ at Bridge Street Church for 28 years, and it’s still here. Maritcha Lyons was an educator for 48 years, and her school that was formerly known as Colored School #2 is now PS243 The Weeksville School. 

For me, these women give me hope. They saw worse things than we did. Some witness the Draft Riots of 1863, and then proceeded to fight for education and suffrage for another 50 years. We have heroes here in Brooklyn that deserve to be celebrated. Let’s live up to their legacy. 

The PDC Wants to Turn Off the Light of Ida B. Wells

 The PDC Wants to Turn Off the Light of Ida B. Wells

It’s not surprising that there is an anti-CRT anti-Ida B. Wells movement in this country. Ida B. Wells writing was uncomfortable since she gave the specifics of gruesome lynchings. She shone the light on terror in this country, and people who think racism has been solved openly oppose CRT for ideological reasons. 

Don’t have time to read? Ready for action? Write this email!!

Example:

To: KButler@cityhall.nyc.gov; snielsen@mnlandscape.com

Subject: Testimony at Public Design Commission

Dear Public Design Commission,

I would like to offer testimony on item 27861 re: Abolitionist Place Park. Please place it on the public agenda.

And please read, sign and share the Sisters In Freedom petition. 

The anti-Ida B. Wells tendency of the Public Design Commission is devoid of this ideology, but the impact is the same. On the street where Ida B. Wells lived, on the street where Black suffragists met, on the street where Abolitionists and all sorts of activists worked to name the names of injustice, the PDC thinks there should be no discussion. 

Back in 2007, the NYC Economic Development Corporation spent $500,000 to deny the historical importance of Duffield Street, which has since been renamed Abolitionist Place. In a huge victory for Brooklyn, in February 2021, Landmarks Preservation Commission finally decided to give landmark designation to 227 Abolitionist Place because of its connection to the Underground Railroad. What people don’t remember is that back in 2008, NYC tried to avoid the embarrassment of their attempt an Abolitionist home by signing a contract for $1 million to build a monument to Abolitionist History at Abolitionist Place Park (formerly Willoughby Square Park and sometimes called “Abolitionist Place).

The publicly revealed proposal has zero reference to either “Brooklyn” or “Abolitionism.” Apparently, the proposal has been revised, but in an act of bureaucratic obfuscation, the EDC has not revealed what revisions they have made. 

What they have revealed is disgust at Underground Railroad history. Am I being too harsh? I don’t think so. The current plan puts a dog run right next to 227 Abolitionist Place, right on top of the tunnels that used to connect it to 223 and 225 Duffield, which were demolished by the EDC. At the exact site of where African-Americans might have found freedom, the EDC plans to let dogs urinate and defecate. If that isn’t disgust, I don’t know what is. 

The EDC does not show its disdain for history by yelling at school board meetings, like the anti-CRT crowd. They use the tools of the powerful. Monday’s meeting is an example of that. We have gotten letters of support from every relevant elected official, from school kids, from scholars and from family members of the Ida B. Wells and other suffragists. None of that matters. They will put their proposal before the Public Design Commission on the “consent agenda.” This assumes that their proposal is so uncontroversial that it’s not worth it to put on the public agenda. It’s not worth debating because everyone agrees, while in fact we have a stunning alliance of people who support Sisters In Freedom. 

The EDC publishes corporate happy-talk press releases about how they love history. But their proposal is completely vague, has no reference to the actual people who made Downtown Brooklyn so important, and fails to educate visitors. 

It’s time to change the narrative. Downtown Brooklyn is as important as the Harlem Renaissance. It was the center of African-American cultural, intellectual, business, religious and political life during the late 19th Century. It was the birthplace of the NAACP, of the women’s club movement, of Black Suffrage, as well as Abolitionism. We have a chance to celebrate that with Sisters In Freedom. We have a chance to throw it all away, as well. Inaction will mean we will fail to honor the great Civil Rights leaders that walked on Duffield Street. Please contact the Public Design Commission TODAY.