Banished from Johnstown: Racist Backlash in Pennsylvania
Nov 2015 · Arcadia Publishing
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About this ebook
This book examines one of the worst civil rights injustices in Pennsylvania history—the 1923 banishment of Black and Mexican residents from Johnstown.
In response to the fatal shooting of four policemen in 1923, the mayor of Johnstown ordered every African American and Mexican immigrant who had lived in the city for less than seven years to leave. They were given less than a day to move or would face crippling fines or jail time. Many were forced out at gunpoint.
An estimated two thousand people uprooted their lives in response to the racist edict. Area Ku Klux Klan members celebrated the creation of a “sundown town” and increased their own intimidation practices. Meanwhile, figures such as Marcus Garvey spoke out against the unjust action as newspapers throughout the country published condemnations. In Banished from Jonestown, historian and award-winning journalist Cody McDevitt examines the events and impact of one of the worst civil rights injustices in Western Pennsylvania history.
In response to the fatal shooting of four policemen in 1923, the mayor of Johnstown ordered every African American and Mexican immigrant who had lived in the city for less than seven years to leave. They were given less than a day to move or would face crippling fines or jail time. Many were forced out at gunpoint.
An estimated two thousand people uprooted their lives in response to the racist edict. Area Ku Klux Klan members celebrated the creation of a “sundown town” and increased their own intimidation practices. Meanwhile, figures such as Marcus Garvey spoke out against the unjust action as newspapers throughout the country published condemnations. In Banished from Jonestown, historian and award-winning journalist Cody McDevitt examines the events and impact of one of the worst civil rights injustices in Western Pennsylvania history.
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Marlena J.
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July 19, 2020
Banished from Johnstown: Racist Backlash in Pennsylvania Book by Cody McDevitt This book opened my eyes and informed me of things that I had no idea that went on in my hometown, of Johnstown Pennsylvania. This is a must-read historical book that was written by Cody McDevitt. I appreciate the time and effort that went into this book and encourage everyone no matter what color to read this book and think about the things that are going on now. We have to stop sometime and just learn to love and live with one another. Let's not take steps back but steps forward. God bless
About the author
Cody McDevitt is an award-winning journalist and the founder of the Rosedale Oral History Project, which is the basis for Banished from Johnstown: Racist Backlash in Pennsylvania. Recently, he released a compendium of firsthand accounts of veterans who fought in World War II called Answering the Call: Somerset County during World War II. He is also the coauthor of Pittsburgh Drinks: A History of Cocktails, Nightlife & Bartending Tradition, which is available on Amazon and in select bookstores locally. He lives near Pittsburgh and works for the Somerset Daily American.
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