Rina Free

Sundown towns! Let’s talk about it. Baker county Georgia is 74th on the list. By 1903, baker county was sick with Jim Crow and fits the criteria of a Jim Crow sundown town. Segregation in public spaces, schools, and housing. 2. Terror from hoods, police, and citizens, 3. Violence or worse. This county had 14 lynchings! Let’s learn history. 

Our ancestors were enslaved in Baker County. With great soil for cotton and the flint for translation, this county was in a prime location to build generational wealth from the free labor of our ancestors. This county had large and small plantations. Hundreds of our ancestors were enslaved on Tarver plantation, the Darlington plantation, and the ichauway plantation to name a few. Our free labor was so essential to the economy in Baker county that By emancipation, our ancestors outnumbered the white people by more than 2 to 1. 

After emancipation, life in Baker county was hard for our ancestors, but they were excited at our new freedoms. Some moved away from plantations and bought land like me. Archibald Givens in 1968. Ohers stayed on or near the plantation where they were enslaved. We set our priorities , and Church was at the top of the list. right on the ichauway plantation, our ancestors founded John the Baptist Church. 

By the 1890s education was also top priority for our ancestors. In elmodel the new Salem school was founded around 1825. But, this was a brewing Jim Crow sundown county, but by 1898 with convict leasing in full swing, our ancestors had better not be caught in the wrong place at night or they get caught up in the new form of slavery, convict leasing. So by the turn of the century, some of our ancestors in Baker county was able to buy land, but the majority of our ancestors there were sharecroppers or caught up in convict leasing. In 1898 the Misdemeanor Convict Camp opened in Cheevertown. This was known as the Chain Gang Camp in Baker county. We weren’t paid for our labor and under the care of the warden, a few guards, and a whipping boss. By the 1900s almost 50 of us were working for free as turpentine laborers in the pine Forrest for A. S. Nicholas, John M. Fleming and M. C. Sharpe

By 1903, this place officially became a Jim Crow sundown county with the lynching of 3 men. A mob tricked jail guards, kidnapped Garfield McCoy, Wiley Anette, and George McKinney and lynched them. 

By the turn of the century, harsh Jim Crow laws were in full effect. We had segragated facilities, separate and unequal education, and the white people wanted to make sure we became second class citizens. Our ancestors had to get off the sidewalk for white people. We had no rights in the eyes of the law.

At the turn of the century, Ms Mary Frances Hill coley was born in Baker county. After losing her own mother to childbirth, this beautiful mother of mothers was responsible for helping deliver over 3000 babies all over Georgia. Our great ancestor Marcus Garvey was also heavy in this corner of Georgia by the 1920s. 

But, we’re never far from danger in a Jim Crow sundown county. By 1921, the hoods were heavy in Baker county and a mob of them found an innocent man, (4) Mr. William Anderson. They were looking for Zema Anthony, but unalived the wrong man. Not satisfied, the mob did find Zema Anthonys aunt (5), so they unalived her. Mr. Anthony was eventually found and lynched in a different state. Noone was ever held responsible. 

Our place was becoming clear, and our ancestors from Baker County started migrating north during the great migration. 

Those that stayed were resilient and bought land for generational wealth, participated in some activism, and passed down stories to keep us safe in this Jim Crow sundown county. 

So by 1932, collectively, our ancestors knew their place, but knew their rights, too. And was not afraid to speak up for equality. So, in 1932 When Mr. Henry Russell (6), a sharecropper, spoke up about the price of a bale of cotton, that was just too upity and a mob unalived him. 

Just one year later in 1933 TJ Thomas and Mr. Richard Marshall were found lynched. (7, 8)

Our ancestors started leaving this place in droves after 8 (documented) lynchings since the turn of the century. 

But not fast enough, and by 1943 another documented lynching happened. This one was very public and meant to fully intimate any of our ancestors left in Baker county. Mr robert Hall (9) was targeted for standing up For his rights, but sheriff Claude Screws and his cronies was having none of it. They conspired to unalive Mr Hall. They dragged him through the courthouse square and lynched him.

Sheriff Claude Screws was directly implicated in this lynching but The supreme Court overturned any convictions against this man. So, noone was ever held responsible. Baker County officials often participated in or ignored lynchings of our ancestors. 

By the 1950s, We found safety in places like Thankful baptist Church. Our families were being educated at places like Newton-Baker County Colored High School, piney Grove school, and New Salem. was in full session, despite I being separate and unequal. Our families were farming their land and working at places like coco cola. 

But our place in this Jim Crow sundown county was clear, and anytime we tried to get upity, the whites would make sure we remembered our place. Like in the late 50s, our porch could get blown up for registering to vote like that of James Williams grandfather. This place was so terrible to our ancestors that they gave it the name bad Baker. 

The reputation that the prior sheriff held, check video 2, was all powerful, so by the 60s sheriff L Warren Johnson felt right at home with his duties of keeping our ancestors as second class citizens, by any means necessary. 

On July 4th 1961, the sheriffs friend, the overseer at ichauway Coco cola plantation, was disrespected by our ancestor, Charles Ware, so The sheriff felt it was his duty to teach Mr. Ware a lesson. 

That night, the sheriff went to Mr. Wares home and assaulted Louise Ware, Mr. Wares wife and arrested Mr. Ware. While in the jail, the sheriff said he was coming after him, but Mr. Ware was handcuffed. Nonetheless, he pew pew Mr Ware 4 times, but Mr. Ware survived. Mr. Ware sued for $100,000, but in 1963, an all white jury deliberated for less than 90 minutes and exonerated the sheriff. 

Our ancestors boycotted one of the jurors businesses in turn making him go out of business. 

Our ancestors had about enough of this second class citizens mess in Baker county and enough of the sheriff. 

The point tipped in 1965 with the unaliving of Mr. Hosie Miller over cows. He was a father, husband, a business owner, and a Deacon. This happened in front of his 17 year old daughter the year she was set to graduate. The man who did this was never even indicted. 

Shirley sherrod, the 17 year old that witnessed this was forced into the civil rights movement. Together, with Mrs. Sherrod, a group of our families bought 6000 acres of land in Lee county and started the New Community. But we’ll learn more about that in another video. 

Can anyone share a first hand account about this place– past or present? Leave a comment below.