Madison County origins, segregation explored
Walter Lesczynski
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: News
Students looking for a few extra credit points this week received something else along with it - stories about the slavery, lynching and discrimination that occurred in their own backyard.
Jackie Burnside, professor of history at Berea College, presented a history of African-Americans in Madison County this week in the Crabbe Library.
The talk, and accompanying PowerPoint, was drawn largely from her book Berea and Madison County, published by Arcadia Press.
"I grew up in Berea, spent my whole life here and I never heard of any of this," said senior Jaclyn Ruebsam, a social work major from Berea. "I thought it was amazing that never once did a teacher tell me about this. I don't think I ever even had a black teacher."
Although Eastern students might think of Richmond as a quaint, typical small town, its story is not without dark chapters.
"As late as the 1870s, there were well-documented lynchings at Madison County Courthouse downtown," Burnside said.
The hangings, Burnside said, were terrorist tactics employed by white supremacists intending to coerce observation of Jim Crow laws.
Only 12 miles away, Berea had dramatically lower incidences of racial violence and lynching.
Burnside said she believes this may be because many black soldiers settled there after the Civil War, and still had their weapons, thus making them less vulnerable targets.
Many students in the audience were shocked to learn about the lynching, but the faculty who organized the talk was hoping for just such an awakening.
"People have a way of thinking 'nothing happens' where they live," said Carolyn Dupont, a history professor at Eastern. "They often don't realize that things which happen nationally also happen locally."
Dupont encouraged her students to attend the talk for two reasons: "Uncovering a hidden history of African-Americans, and gaining an appreciation of local history."
Burnside made a point of highlighting the differences between Richmond and Berea.
Jackie Burnside, professor of history at Berea College, presented a history of African-Americans in Madison County this week in the Crabbe Library.
The talk, and accompanying PowerPoint, was drawn largely from her book Berea and Madison County, published by Arcadia Press.
"I grew up in Berea, spent my whole life here and I never heard of any of this," said senior Jaclyn Ruebsam, a social work major from Berea. "I thought it was amazing that never once did a teacher tell me about this. I don't think I ever even had a black teacher."
Although Eastern students might think of Richmond as a quaint, typical small town, its story is not without dark chapters.
"As late as the 1870s, there were well-documented lynchings at Madison County Courthouse downtown," Burnside said.
The hangings, Burnside said, were terrorist tactics employed by white supremacists intending to coerce observation of Jim Crow laws.
Only 12 miles away, Berea had dramatically lower incidences of racial violence and lynching.
Burnside said she believes this may be because many black soldiers settled there after the Civil War, and still had their weapons, thus making them less vulnerable targets.
Many students in the audience were shocked to learn about the lynching, but the faculty who organized the talk was hoping for just such an awakening.
"People have a way of thinking 'nothing happens' where they live," said Carolyn Dupont, a history professor at Eastern. "They often don't realize that things which happen nationally also happen locally."
Dupont encouraged her students to attend the talk for two reasons: "Uncovering a hidden history of African-Americans, and gaining an appreciation of local history."
Burnside made a point of highlighting the differences between Richmond and Berea.