Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

ck4829

(35,091 posts)
Wed Aug 16, 2017, 09:11 PM Aug 2017

The Lumbee have an annual celebration for this, but they don't need a statue

The Battle of Hayes Pond was an armed confrontation between the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and the Lumbee Indians at a Klan rally near Maxton, North Carolina, on the night of January 18, 1958. Grand Dragon James W. "Catfish" Cole was the organizer of the Klan rally. Sanford Locklear, Simeon Oxendine and Neill Lowery were leaders of the Lumbee who attacked the Klansmen and successfully disrupted the rally.

On the night of the rally, 50–100 Klansmen arrived at the private field near Hayes Pond, which Cole had leased from a sympathetic farmer. Cole set up the public address system and erected the cross, all under the illumination of a single light bulb. Before Cole could finish the arrangements, over 500 Lumbee men, many armed with rocks, sticks and firearms, appeared and encircled the assembled Klansmen. First the Lumbee shot out the one light, darkening the field and panicking the Klansmen. Then the Lumbee began yelling and attacked, firing shots at the Klansmen, several of whom briefly returned fire to no avail. Four Klansmen were wounded in the exchange of gunfire. The remaining Klansmen fled the scene, leaving family members, the public address system, unlit cross, and various Klan regalia behind. Cole reportedly left his wife behind and escaped through a nearby swamp.

Afterward, the Lumbee celebrated by holding up the abandoned KKK banner; Charlie Warriax and World War II veteran Simeon Oxendine were shown wrapped in it in Life magazine photos. Oxendine, Neill Lowery and Sanford Locklear were acknowledged by the Lumbee as leaders of the attack, which they called "the Klas." Many local, state and national newspapers covered the event and captured photos of Lumbee burning the regalia and dancing around an open fire. A posse of Robeson County deputies led by the sheriff arrived on the scene, dispersing the Lumbee with tear-gas grenades and terminating the celebration.

The Lumbee celebrate the anniversary of the disrupted Klan rally, which they call the "Battle of Hayes Pond," as a holiday.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hayes_Pond

Are dates hard for the Nazis to remember or something?

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»The Lumbee have an annual...