New historical marker in Millican chronicles Texas' largest racial violence incident

[TexasTowelie]

The grass is overgrown and trees are scattered on a small parcel of open land off F.M. 159 across from Millican United Methodist Church. The land has sat vacant for years since Brooks Chapel Methodist Church closed in 1968 and moved to College Station, but had a new feature put up last week: a historical marker.

Three paragraphs provide an overview of the “Millican Massacre,” which is believed to be the deadliest racially motivated incident in Texas history during Reconstruction when up to 300 Black people were either killed or fled the area.

The event has long gone underknown in Texas, survived by oral histories within the local Black community and newspaper accounts from the 1860s, but now has a permanent home for passersby to know what happened in the small, unincorporated area of southern Brazos County. Several years of research from a Texas A&M University professor, her students, and other collaborators, including members of the local Black community, have allowed this historical event to become more known.

“There’s so much Black history in the county, but people don’t know it outside the Black community,” said Amy Earhart, a Texas A&M University English professor. “Black folks know, but the rest of us haven’t been paying attention, so this is a way we can sort of start listening and hearing because these histories are shared.”

Read more: https://theeagle.com/news/local/millican-historical-marker-chronicles-1860s-racial-violence/article_321cefec-cf74-11ee-99e1-370a11c7daca.html
(Bryan/College Station The Eagle)

[Timeflyer]

1. KKK et al. attacks on Blacks after the Civil War were often called "riots" when Blacks fought back.

"Massacre" implied an unprovoked mob attack--words matter, especially when history is being recorded by the group in power.