Banished from Johnstown: Racist Backlash in Pennsylvania

Download or read book Banished from Johnstown: Racist Backlash in Pennsylvania written by Cody McDevitt and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2020 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1923, in response to the fatal shooting of four policemen, the mayor of Johnstown ordered every African American and Mexican immigrant who had lived in the city for less than seven years to leave. They were given less than a day to move or would face crippling fines or jail time and were forced out at gunpoint. An estimated two thousand people uprooted their lives in response to the racist edict. Area Ku Klux Klan members celebrated the creation of a �sundown town� and increased their own intimidation practices. Figures such as Marcus Garvey spoke out in Pittsburgh against it as newspapers throughout the country published condemnations. Author and journalist Cody McDevitt tells the story of one of the worst civil rights injustices in Western Pennsylvania history.