By Karen Hall COLUMBIA, TN — A new historical marker here, unveiled Saturday, October 5, commemorates the short-lived but important Freedmen’s Savings and Trust Company, whose Columbia branch was one of four in Tennessee. “This is an important marker because it commemorates the struggle for black equality,” said Dr. Learotha Williams Jr., the keynote speaker at the dedication ceremony. He is an associate professor of history at Tennessee State University. Though the bank failed less than a decade after it was chartered by Congress, Williams said it was a symbol of thrift and hope for the future for former slaves…
Author: Karen Hall
By Karen Hall CORNERSVILLE, TN – The military action was minor, but the propaganda effect was enormous. In April 1864, 262 African-Americans of the 6th Heavy Colored Artillery were among the Union troops holding Fort Pillow, overlooking the Mississippi River north of Memphis. When Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s troops stormed the fort they raged out of control for a brief period, shooting Union soldiers in cold blood even as they tried to surrender. Two-thirds of the African-Americans were killed, a disproportionately large number. Union boats on the river picked up survivors, so word of the atrocity quickly spread. As…