Dovey Costner in September 1911 got national attention for his plea for help in leaving Bryan County OK to go to Liberia, the lower class whites had been so threatening. The Brigance Hardware Company thought it could sell "Steel King" washing machines to replace female black laundresses.
The local paper advertised for whites to come and take over jobs vacated by negroes: "Come to Caddo." Some of the Herald's reflections are timeless:
"The Herald has always believed the negro should be made to keep in his place, and his place necessarily is on the back seat. But because a man is a negro is not full proof that he has no rights at all." ….. Can you think of any politician who believes this today?
September 8, 1911
The negro has gone and we have the “Steel King” washing machine to take her place. We guarantee them to do the work. Brigance Hardware Co.
Your washerwoman has gone. We have a good substitute, the “Steel King” washing machine. Brigance Hardware Co.
The local paper advertised for whites to come and take over jobs vacated by negroes: "Come to Caddo." Some of the Herald's reflections are timeless:
"The Herald has always believed the negro should be made to keep in his place, and his place necessarily is on the back seat. But because a man is a negro is not full proof that he has no rights at all." ….. Can you think of any politician who believes this today?
The Caddo Herald
September 8, 1911
The negro has gone and we have the “Steel King” washing machine to take her place. We guarantee them to do the work. Brigance Hardware Co.
September 8, 1911
The negro has gone and we have the “Steel King” washing machine to take her place. We guarantee them to do the work. Brigance Hardware Co.
Note: One of the immediate problems faced by the new “white”
Caddo was the sudden absence of servants, laundresses, cooks, day laborers, gin
workers, cotton pickers, hotel porters, and nursemaids. The loss of cotton
pickers and gin workers would have been especially difficult because the
harvest had just begun. The editor of The Herald quickly grasped the situation
and started advertising the merits of the community:
September 8, 1911
With the departure of the negroes there is plenty of work for all white people who may come to Caddo. The cotton must be picked, the gins must run, there is plenty of hauling and the like to do, besides cement workers, carpenters, and other lines are here to furnish employment. There is plenty to do and Caddo people will welcome those who desire to come here for the purpose of working and making a living, besides something for a rainy day. We have good free schools, city water, light taxes, and good government; what more can an immigrant desire? Come to Caddo.
With the departure of the negroes there is plenty of work for all white people who may come to Caddo. The cotton must be picked, the gins must run, there is plenty of hauling and the like to do, besides cement workers, carpenters, and other lines are here to furnish employment. There is plenty to do and Caddo people will welcome those who desire to come here for the purpose of working and making a living, besides something for a rainy day. We have good free schools, city water, light taxes, and good government; what more can an immigrant desire? Come to Caddo.
The Bennington Tribune
September 8, 1911
Exodus of Negroes from the County
Will Leave if Race Trouble Continues
That there is a general exodus movement on among the negroes of the southern part of Bryan County, Okla., especially immediately north of Denison on Red River, became known Saturday when Dovey Costner, a negro, visited the city seeking financial aid for a number of negro families that they might go to Liberia, Africa.
September 8, 1911
Exodus of Negroes from the County
Will Leave if Race Trouble Continues
That there is a general exodus movement on among the negroes of the southern part of Bryan County, Okla., especially immediately north of Denison on Red River, became known Saturday when Dovey Costner, a negro, visited the city seeking financial aid for a number of negro families that they might go to Liberia, Africa.
Costner stated to a Herald man that the negroes immediately
north of Red River are living in daily anticipation of being attacked by the
lower elements of the whites in that section.
The negro said that the members of his race would certainly leave Bryan County if the race troubles continue and was especially anxious to get information on the negro republic in Africa. At several places he inquired if he could expect small contributions toward defraying the expenses of reaching Liberia.
The negro said that the members of his race would certainly leave Bryan County if the race troubles continue and was especially anxious to get information on the negro republic in Africa. At several places he inquired if he could expect small contributions toward defraying the expenses of reaching Liberia.
Costner stated that there were about fifty negroes residing in
Bryan county just north of Denison, the greater part of whom are honest,
law-abiding, hard-working men and women. A number own their own land and are
raising families. Not a few are renters and have fairly good crops. Costner
stated that he rented thirty acres of the old Colbert Farm at Riverside for the
past several years and has lived on or near that place for ten years. Two
brothers, James and John Costner are renting sixty and forty acres respectively
on the same farm.
In the opinion of Dovey Costner it is not the negroes of his section
that are causing the disturbances. He believes that in the majority of cases
the negroes who have committed crimes or attempt to do so have come from
Denison and large places in Oklahoma. He said that they were of the low,
vagrant type such as infest the negro restaurants, pool halls, and joints of
every town. Denison Texas Herald
September 15, 1911
The Race Question
Apropos the recent race troubles, The Herald has had little to say, the mere truth being bad enough. Now that our people have had time to think over the matter perhaps a few remarks will not be misconstrued. The Herald has always believed the negro should be made to keep in his place, and his place necessarily is on the back seat. But because a man is a negro is not full proof that he has no rights at all. Some of Caddo’s citizens have been censured for taking a stand in favor of allowing the negro to stay at least long enough to gather his crops and settle his affairs. This censure to our mind was not justified; many of these negroes owed money to various merchants and banks and surely these men should have had a chance to collect what was due them. It is a reasonable right and should not have been denied. After the horrible tragedy of the death of Horace Gribble all the negroes took flight and left as soon as the trains could carry them away, sacrificing their stuff, anything to get out of the country, fearing that retribution would overtake them- in other words, they were scared.
The Race Question
Apropos the recent race troubles, The Herald has had little to say, the mere truth being bad enough. Now that our people have had time to think over the matter perhaps a few remarks will not be misconstrued. The Herald has always believed the negro should be made to keep in his place, and his place necessarily is on the back seat. But because a man is a negro is not full proof that he has no rights at all. Some of Caddo’s citizens have been censured for taking a stand in favor of allowing the negro to stay at least long enough to gather his crops and settle his affairs. This censure to our mind was not justified; many of these negroes owed money to various merchants and banks and surely these men should have had a chance to collect what was due them. It is a reasonable right and should not have been denied. After the horrible tragedy of the death of Horace Gribble all the negroes took flight and left as soon as the trains could carry them away, sacrificing their stuff, anything to get out of the country, fearing that retribution would overtake them- in other words, they were scared.
The Herald believes now that they are gone our race troubles are
at an end and hopes it may thus continue. Our farmers naturally were fearful
when they left home, lest some black brute would assault their own family,
never feeling safe as long as the black presence was here. Now a reasonable
feeling of security prevails and our people are able to work in peace of mind
as well as of body.
White people are fast coming to Caddo to take the places left by
the blacks. They are laborers, cotton pickers, and all other lines which
formerly were done by the negroes. It may work a hardship for a time, but The
Herald believes that in a short while things will run along as smoothly as
ever.
The Herald, however, desires to take the side of peacemaker in
this matter. It does not believe these people should be condemned for wanting
the negro to have a chance to gather his crop and pay up before he left,
neither does it desire to condemn those other people who are wanting the negro
to leave. Both parties had good reasons for their leanings and since the
negroes are gone, why not stop talking about the subject and get to doing
things for a better Caddo, a better community, and a better county? There are
many things which ought to be done for the betterment of our people which are
of more importance than a discussion of a dead issue.
Let us work for a flour mill, for an oil mill, for an ice plant,
for a cotton mill. Let us have better schools, better roads, better
communities. All these can be secured if we all labor together for
accomplishment of those objects.
Note: So Caddo residents
resumed their lives in October and looked forward to a new future. Construction
began on the new high school building. Schaffer and Winkelman partnered up and
opened a new dry goods store. Mr. Hulsey moved his photo studio to the Wood
building. Some folks gathered at the Opera House to watch “The Missouri Girl”;
others flocked to the fair in Dallas. However, if anyone thought their racial
conflicts were over, or their new life would simply be “peaceful and
prosperous” they were certainly mistaken.
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