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Banished from Johnstown - (American Heritage) by Cody McDevitt (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- Author and journalist Cody McDevitt tells the story of one of the worst civil rights injustices in Western Pennsylvania history.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.
- Author(s): Cody McDevitt
- 224 Pages
- History, United States
- Series Name: American Heritage
Description
About the Book
Series title taken from publisher website.Book Synopsis
Author and journalist Cody McDevitt tells the story of one of the worst civil rights injustices in Western Pennsylvania history.
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.
Review Quotes
Banished from Johnstown, Racist Backlash in Pennsylvania, is essential reading - not only for what it says about Johnstown then, but also for what it says about who we are today. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette