Ridgefield Allies

Today in “Hidden” History is a daily listing of important but little-known events illustrating the range of innovators, contributors, or incidents excluded from formal history lessons or common knowledge. Hidden history is intended not as an exhaustive review, but merely as an illustration of how popular narratives "hide" many matters of fundamental importance. Bookmark this page and check daily to quickly expand your knowledge. Suggest entries for Today in “Hidden” History by clicking the Contact Us link. Entries for July 30:

Date	Type	Event
1822		Ordained Methodist elder James Varrick is consecrated as the first bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Learn more.
1866		Conservative white Democrats commit the New Orleans Massacre of 1866 in order to stop white and Black Republicans who had reconvened the state Constitutional Convention in an effort to overturn the Black Codes that Louisiana Democrats had recently-enacted to maintain the disenfranchisement of African Americans. The attrocities began when a peaceful demonstration of mostly Black Freedmen outside the Mechanics Institute (the convention site) was set upon by a mob of white rioters, many of whom had been soldiers of the recently defeated Confederate States of America. “The whites stomped, kicked, and clubbed the black marchers mercilessly. Policemen smashed the institute’s windows and fired into it indiscriminately until the floor grew slick with blood. They emptied their revolvers on the convention delegates, who desperately sought to escape. Some leaped from windows and were shot dead when they landed. Those lying wounded on the ground were stabbed repeatedly, their skulls bashed in with brickbats. The sadism was so wanton that men who kneeled and prayed for mercy were killed instantly, while dead bodies were stabbed and mutilated.” Ron Chernow, "Grant" (2017). According to the official report, a total of 38 were killed and 146 wounded, with 34 of the dead and 119 of the wounded black. Unofficial estimates were higher. Gilles Vandal estimated 40 to 50 blacks dead and more than 150 wounded. In addition, three white convention attendees were killed, as was one white demonstrator. Learn more.
1903		A contest erupts between the Boston newspaper editor William Monroe Trotter and Tuskegee Institute’s Principal (President) Booker T. Washington, and their respective supporters, at the Columbus Avenue African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (A.M.E. Zion) in Boston, Massachusetts. Trotter had been critical of Washington’s more accommodationist stance for some time. When word got out that the National Negro Business League’s Boston Branch was holding its meeting at the Columbus Avenue Church and would feature Washington, a large crowd assembled, anticipating conflict. Supporters of Washington and Trotter clashed after Trotter disrupted the proceedings, asking Washington nine contentious questions. Disorder ensued, some sustained injuries, and Trotter and two others were ultimately arrested. The incident was formative in the development of the Niagara Movement, a more assertive civil rights group headed by Trotter and W.E.B. DuBois. The reaction to the incident cemented DuBois as a member of Niagara although he was not present at A.M.E. Zion. It also hoisted Trotter to center stage as a symbol of opposition to the “Tuskegee Machine” in the African American community. Learn more.