Racial Terrorism and Convict Leasing / Racial Violence at Brookside Mines

Marker Text: On June 17, 1890, Tom Redmond, an African American man, was killed during a violent confrontation between a group of white and black men in Brookside, a town located 13 miles north of here with iron mines owned by the Sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron Company. On June 16th, a group of inebriated white men instigated a quarrel after hurling rocks at a group of black men. The next day, Tom Acres, a white man, reignited the dispute after drawing his pistol on Jim McDowell, a leader in the black party, to arrest him. Mr. Redmond heroically stepped in to stop Acres from firing on McDowell, but the encounter sparked a shoot-out in front of the Sloss & Company’s store. Mr. Redmond was fatally shot, and the black party eventually fled. Two of the men were caught by the white party, who pursued them with bloodhounds. Although law enforcement prevented another lynching of the two men, no one was held accountable for Mr. Redmond’s death and racial intimidation persisted. Seven years later a black man named Jake McKenzie was killed on March 22, 1897 while trying to defend another black man, Henry Johnson, from being arrested for “disorderly conduct,” which was often alleged when black people resisted intimidation and mistreatment. Without fairness and just treatment shown to black residents by the white community, violence continued to plague Brookside.