[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 54 (Monday, March 28, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SHERMAN RIOT OF 1930: AN IMPORTANT EVENT THAT CHANGED AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 28, 2022

  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in solemn 
remembrance of the Sherman Riot of 1930. Many may be unfamiliar with 
the Sherman Riot, as it is all too often overlooked in the teaching of 
Texas history.
  The violence began at the Grayson County Courthouse in Sherman, Texas 
on May 9, 1930 and spread throughout the town, devastating the Black 
community. The riot began in response to the trial of George Hughes, a 
Black farm laborer, accused of allegedly assaulting his white 
employer's wife. In the middle of Hughes' trial, a white mob gathered 
and attempted to take over the county courthouse. The crowd eventually 
made its way into the courtroom, forcing law enforcement to relocate 
Hughes to a vault in order to protect him from the mob. However, 
protesters set the courthouse on fire and, despite efforts to rescue 
Hughes, it burned to the ground with Hughes still inside. After the 
fire was put out, Hughes' corpse was pulled from the rubble and dragged 
by automobile to the center of Sherman's Black business district where 
it was mutilated, then hanged from a tree, and a fire was subsequently 
set beneath it. The rioting continued and culminated in the burning and 
looting of many Black-owned businesses. The Sherman Black community was 
terrorized by angry white mobs. The National Guard was deployed and 
ultimately martial law was declared by the Texas Governor. Among those 
victimized included noted civil rights lawyer William J. Durham, whose 
office was destroyed. Despite the attack, Durham would go on to work 
with Thurgood Marshall on the cases that led to the integration of the 
University of Texas School of Law and the end of white primaries in the 
State of Texas, and ultimately throughout our Nation.
  In February of 2022, the Texas Historical Commission approved plans 
to place a State of Texas Historical Marker on the grounds of the 
current Grayson County Courthouse to finally commemorate the riot, with 
an expected unveiling date of May 9, 2023.
  Madam Speaker, tragically the lynching of George Hughes was only one 
of many incidents like these that occurred in Texas and throughout the 
South during the Great Depression era. Now, nearly 92 years later, the 
fight for equality continues. Today, we remember and reflect upon the 
heinous violence of the Sherman Riot. Americans everywhere must remain 
vigilant in our efforts to combat racism and hatred everywhere it may 
occur.

                          ____________________