Current Events > black history month history lesson

(+) Yeah! (+)

Vernon Dahmer was born on March 10, 1908 and assassinated in January 1966 in Hattiesburg Mississippi. Dahmer lived in Forrest County all his life. A businessman, he owned a store, a sawmill, a planning mill, and a 300-acre commercial cotton farm. He served several terms as president of the Forrest County Chapter of the NAACP.

On January 9, 1966, Dahmer led a voter registration drive. A local radio station announced that Dahmer would allow black prospective voters to pay the two dollar poll tax at his store. At 2 am on the morning of January 10, 1966, Dahmers home was firebombed. Three carloads of klan pigs pushed their way into the Dahmer home and ignited 12 one-gallon containers of gasoline. While the house and adjacent store were on fire, shots were fired at the home. Dahmer returned fire from a window his wife, Ellie, and children, escaped from a rear window.

He was able to leave his burning home but was severely burned from the waist up; Bettie also had severe burns on her arms. The Dahmers' home, grocery store, and car were all destroyed in the fire. He was taken to the hospital and died due to his lungs being severely burned and smoke inhalation. Before he died, Dahmer had told a local newspaper reporter: "I've been active in trying to get people to register to vote. People who don't vote are deadbeats on the state. I figure a man needs to do his own thinking. What happened to us last night can happen to anyone, white or black. At one time I didn't think so, but I have changed my mind."
---

Do u no de wae?
---

Great lesson brother.
---

a lot of people have become disillusioned by the voting process, but so many people have sacrificed so much so that others might have the privilege
---

There are always more stories of violence against Civil Rights supporters. And they're always worse.
Honestly think it's kind of lame we gave black people the literal shortest month.

nothing has changed in half a century
watch all the voter disenfranchisement and gerrymandering that's going to happen to the 2018 midterms
---

welp
---