Letter from Maud Craig to J. A. A. Burnquist, June 19, 1920.
Type of event: Lynchings
Location: Minnesota; United States
Addressee: J. A. A. Burnquist
Addressor: Maud Craig
Document date:
Document type: Correspondence
Documents: Letter from Maud Craig to J. A. A. Burnquist, June 19, 1920.
Citation:
Minnesota. Governor (1915-1921: Burnquist).
Records.
Subject Files (File 648c): Duluth Lynchings, 1920.
Letter from Maud Craig to J. A. A. Burnquist, June 19, 1920.
Image text
Cable Address " Unimpro," New York Telephone--Sey. 5687L.
ONE GOD! ONE AIM! ONE
DESTINY!
VANCOUVER DIVISION-NO.
31.
Universal Negro Improvement Association
AND
African Communities League
MARCUS GARVEY H. M. MICKENS
President General Secretary General
HENRIETTA VINTON
DAVIS J. A. PORTLOCK
International Organizer Asst. Actg. Secy.
General
WM. H. FERRIS
Actg. Chancellor
UNIVERSAL BUILDING, 56 WEST 135TH STREET
NEW YORK, U.S.A.
“He created of one blood all
nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth."
Vancouver, . B . C.,
June 19, 1920.
To His Excellency, The Hon. Mr. Burnquist,
Governor of the state of
Minnesota,
Saint-Paul, Minn.
Sir:--
Having read of the deplorable
stain imprinted upon the immaculate record of the great state of Minnesota,
caused by the barbarous lynching of three Negroes, we, the members of the local
branch of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, herein beseech your honor
to do your utmost to save the reputation of "Good Old Minnesota'' from falling
to the degraded level of that of the state of Georgia, or any other heathen
vicinity, by putting forth strenuous to bring the murderous perpetrators of that
terrible deed face to face with the awful justice it very much deserves. it is
necessary to inflict upon the guilty ones a punishment that will cause all
"hoodlums" to refrain from the repetition of such crime, and to remember with
respect the moral sense of the state of Minnesota
and the federal
constitution upon which the honor and integrity of the United States of America
are founded.
It is not for the protection of the individual criminal,
regarding the circumstance of singularity, that we ask; but it is the respect
for a law-abiding and patriotic mass of black American citizens numbering
millions which we demand. Perhaps, it would be better to state that we do not
believe that criminals, few or many, should not be protected; however, we wish
to emphasize the fact that millions are insulted by this breach of the law,
federal, state, and divine. Is this the kind of treatment promised those black
boys of Minnesota in 1917 when they nobly marched away amid your cheers to give
up their life-blood to save the citizens of Minnesota and all other Americans
from the persecution of a common enemy, and to make the world safe for
"Democracy"?
Cable Address " Unimpro," New York Telephone--Sey. 5687L.
ONE GOD! ONE AIM! ONE
DESTINY!
VANCOUVER DIVISION-NO.
31.
Universal Negro Improvement Association
AND
African Communities League
MARCUS GARVEY H. M. MICKENS
President General Secretary General
HENRIETTA VINTON
DAVIS J. A. PORTLOCK
International Organizer Asst. Actg. Secy.
General
WM. H. FERRIS
Actg. Chancellor
UNIVERSAL BUILDING, 56 WEST 135TH STREET
NEW YORK, U.S.A.
“He created of one blood all
nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth."
Did they valiantly fight in the recent world war to return home and find
members of their race swinging to telephone poles? Did they tell the Hun that he
was barbarous and tyrannical on the weak, and that a civilized country had sent
them to teach him the laws of humanity? Theirs is a just indignation when they
witness such heathenism such as occurred in the Zenith City of Duluth. Does the
word "Zenith" imply such atrocious misdemeanor?
We ask no more for our
citizens than the constitution grants, but we do ask for equality and protection
as we are citizens and soldiers. It is not unreasonable that we expect the
courts of the country to punish, after a fair and impartial trial, the lawless
element who exhibit a chronic disregard for the laws of the land and a stubborn
defiance of those into whose keeping the same is entrusted. Having developed a
high sense or moral rectitude, we, as black Americans, will never condone crime
whether found in the ranks of black people or white, and we hereby state our
unconditional recognition of the majesty of the country's statutes, which cannot
be considered unworthy. We hold lynch-law a most deplorable institution for
which the better element of white Americans are, in a measure, responsible. They
have done little to restrain the moral and mental defectives whose chief delight
is to torture Americans of color, thereby stigmatizing America before the eyes
of the entire world.
We are in sympathy with you and the state of Minnesota,
as disgrace has been brought upon you in the perpetration of this heinous deed,
and we sincerely hope that you, as an executive official of an honorable and
progressive state, are in real sympathy with us for the persecutions we have for
decades suffered. Once more, your Excellency, we beseech you and other Governors
to put a stop to this undesirable institution. It can not last forever!
In
conclusion, allow us to state that we are thanking you in advance for a reply at
your earliest convenience. Yours most respectfully,
Maud Craig - - Sec;
Vancouver,
B.C.
1274 Granville St.