Here is a story for everyone. Although civil rights activists, history buffs and truth seekers will enjoy this the most. This is a must read for each and every person. This is the long overdue obituary of a hero to mankind, a martyr named William “Willie” Brown. 

“Lest We Forget”
William “Willie” Brown 
February 7, 1879 – September 28, 1919 

William “Willie” Brown was laid to rest after suffering a horribly vicious death during the “Red Summer of 1919.” 

Despite the local Cairo, Ill. newspaper running a story about Willie Brown seeking relatives of his to come forward after his death, there is no record of his family members. In this obituary, his birthdate is estimated. 

One can only discern that he received his education in his hometown of Cairo, Ill. at the Greeley Grammar School. The Greeley Grammar School was the only school that black youth could attend. There were 44 students to every one teacher. 

Mr. Brown is believed to have come to Omaha in approximately 1910. In 1909 a mob in his hometown of Cairo, Ill. brutally killed William “Froggie” James. Mr. James was a black man accused of murdering a white woman; however, without a trial, approximately 10,000 angry citizens found Mr. James guilty and imposed their own death sentence on him for the entire town to see. The violence caused many of the towns black residents to flee north. It was at this time that Willie is believed to have moved to Omaha, Nebraska.

Mr. Brown had found better paying employment and good friends in Omaha. Until the Red Summer of 1919, one could imagine that he considered Omaha to be a safer, more progressive home than where he was from. 

Although Mr. Brown was visibly crippled from severe rheumatoid arthritis and was paid about $25 per week, he found honest employment in Omaha as a coal hustler. Although it is often reported that he was a packing plant worker, his physical condition prohibited him from such laborious work. Coal hustling was just moving coal back and forth and it was all he could do to meet the expectations of his job. 

Black people must have felt safer in Omaha at the time as its black population doubled from 1910 to 1920. This increase in population meant more black people called Omaha home than any other western city aside from Los Angeles, California at the time. 

There is no evidence that Willie Brown had any family in the Omaha area. It is only known that he was friends with a white woman named Virginia Jones and another black man named Henry Johnson. Willie, Ms. Jones and his friend Henry Johnson all lived together on the south side of town, which was very taboo at the time. Black men were not allowed to have relations with white women and they were largely discouraged from living anywhere other than North Omaha. 

Although it is unclear what his relationship was with Ms. Jones, it is clear that by today’s standards Willie Brown was disabled and probably would have had a very difficult time living alone, let alone committing the crimes he was accused of. A reporter who allegedly interviewed Willie after he was jailed “confirmed by his observation the man’s crippled condition.” 

Political unrest was a big problem in Omaha at the time. In 1906, despite being a fugitive on the run for murdering his brother-in-law in Texas in 1878, James Dahlman was elected mayor of Omaha. James Dahlman is often referred to as Tom Dennison’s “puppet” mayor. Tom Dennison was a local, well-known political boss and racketeer. Although Tom Dennison never held any political office, he controlled much of the political scene in Omaha at the time by making large campaign contributions to politicians who were easy to manipulate.

Dahlman went on to serve three consecutive terms until Mayor Ed Parsons Smith won in the 1918 election. Voters ran to the polls to show their discontent for Tom Dennison’s political power over James Dahlman and Dennison’s Sporting District. The Sporting District was known for violating the recently instituted prohibition laws and allowing prostitution, gambling and other crimes. 

Tom Dennison lost a lot of political control when James Dahlman was out seated and held a strong grudge against new Mayor Edward Parsons Smith. Dennison may have lost political allies but he maintained his close allegiances with the Omaha Bee’s Editor Edward Rosewater. 

The local Omaha newspaper the “Omaha Bee” reported on the Red Summer of 1919. The Omaha Bee was notorious for fueling racial tensions and encouraging discontent for the current administration by panic mongering, character assassination, projection and scapegoating. Editorials were being published in the Omaha Bee that would encourage violence with quotes like, “Our women must be protected at all costs.” 

On September 25, 1919, a young white lady by the name of Agnes Loeback reported being raped and assaulted by a black man. Agnes Loeback and her brother Joseph Loeback reported that they were mugged by a black man who then drug Agnes to a ravine and held Joseph by gunpoint while he raped Joseph’s sister in front of him. 

Following these accusations, the Omaha Bee reported a “black beast” had assaulted a white girl on the front page of the paper. The Omaha Bee’s reporting strategies of fueling fear and sensationalizing alleged attacks on white women by black men sparked a group of angry vigilantes. When the group was told about Willie Brown living at a home with a white woman, the mob went straight to Willie’s door 2418 South 5th Street on or about September 27, 2014. That is where Willie and his friends lived. 

When the police arrived to the scene they took Mr. Brown to the Loeback residence where Agnes’ brother Joseph Loeback positively identified Willie as the rapist. Accounts by the police and US Army investigators report that Agnes would only say that the man who attacked her was black but she did not know if Willie was the man or not. 

Despite Agnes not being able positively identifying Willie as her attacker and it being well-evidenced that Willie was too disabled to perform the crimes he was accused of, the group of about 250 men and women beat Willie, damaged property and vehicles at his home and put a noose around his neck twice.

Police Chief Marshall Eberstein said he did not know if Willie was guilty but decided to lock Willie up in the new Douglas County Courthouse jail while the authorities investigated the event to keep Willie safe. Willie was safer there until the afternoon of September 28th when a mob of violent men, mostly white immigrants, met at Bancroft School. The mob marched to the courthouse where it grew to over 4,000 people. Before the mob got out of control, the police captain sent home 50 extra police officers because he did not think the mob was a threat. 

Mayor Edward Parsons Smith, the police chief and city commissioner Harry B. Zimmerman’s attempts to calm the crowd only led to the crowd beating down the courthouse door and yelling “lynch the dam Jew,” to Mr. Zimmerman. The crowd ended up taking over the police force that was present, taking their guns and badges. Random innocent black people who were present were beaten and so were the white people who tried to help the black people escape the violence. This would explain why legendary actor Henry Fonda, who was 14 years old at the time, recalls his father showing him the violence from afar and not intercepting themselves to help. 

The crowd lit the courthouse on fire and caused about $20,000 in damage to local gas stations and gun shops by looting them. The mayor addressed the crowd asking them to allow the justice system to run its course. Despite being beaten the mayor was quoted as saying, “No, I will not give up the man. I’m going to enforce the law even with my own life.” 

Upon hearing this, the crowd then placed a noose around the mayor’s neck and dragged him to 16th and Harney Streets until some brave person removed the rope and city officials and policemen rescued him. The mayor was unconscious and near death when he was admitted to the Ford Hospital. He was two days away from his 59th birthday. He ultimately recovered from his injuries. 

As the fire blazed on at the courthouse, the mob thwarted the fireman’s efforts to put out the fire by cutting the hoses and using their ladders to enter the courthouse. Once they were in the courthouse a 16-year-old kid named Louis Young was shot in the heart as he led the violent mob up a stairway. The sheriff tried to find safety for Willie and the other 121 prisoners on the roof but shots were being fired at them from nearby buildings so they ran back into the building. The sheriff was able to convince the mob to let the female prisoners free. 

Deputy Clerk Asel Steere and other court officials were trapped in the burning building with the rest of the prisoners. The rioters would not let them free. Messages from the occupants of the burning courthouse were sent out of the building through a window to the mob. The messages said “Judge says will give up Brown. He is in the dungeon. There are 100 white prisoners on the roof. Save them.” Another message said, “Come to the fourth floor of the building and we will hand the nigger over to you.” 

Shortly after Willie was handed over to the mob. He continued to proclaim his innocence as he was beaten and shot and then hanged at 18th and Harney Streets. Once dead, they tied him to the back of a police car and dragged his body to 17th and Dodge where they lit his body on fire. Once burned, they dragged his charred remains through the streets of downtown again in celebration. They posed smiling waving for photos with Willie’s charred corpse. 

A businessman named H.J. Hykell who was walking in the area during the chaos was also shot and killed for no apparent reason. 

A grand jury later issued 189 indictments and cited a multitude of contributing factors to the events such as assaults on women, contempt for the law, economic conditions, strikes, lockouts and class hatred; however, racism was never cited as a factor. 

Although No one was convicted of any crimes associated with Willie Brown’s death or any other crimes that occurred that day. Including a man that was positively identified by the mayor as one of his assailants. 

After the riot many Omaha residents began strictly enforcing the unspoken code of not allowing black people to rent or purchase property outside of North Omaha. This practice is commonly referred to as redlining. Although it was deemed illegal in 1940, it continues to be a problem in Omaha to this day. 

Omaha’s brave Mayor Edward Parsons Smith did not run for reelection. Little is known about Edward Parsons Smith before his run for mayor and even less after he left office. He was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in 1930. There are no streets, schools, parks or other tributes to his legacy.

Former Mayor James Dahlman, despite being known for corrupt practices, was re-elected after the riots in 1921. He went on to serve another five consecutive terms until this death in 1930. There is a school, park, neighborhood and avenue named after James Dahlman. 

On October 1, 1919, Willie Brown was laid to rest at Omaha’s Potters Field. This is where poor or unidentified people were laid to rest from 1887 to 1957. He was not given a grave marker and the only information next to his name was the word, “Lynched.” 

A man by the name of Chris Hebert, who never lived in Nebraska and has no relation to Willie Brown, purchased a gravestone for Mr. Brown almost 100 years after his death in 2011. Mr. Hebert is a self-described proud American, person of color, average guy who loves his wife, family and country. When he heard about the lynching and learned that Mr. Brown did not have a proper burial, he purchased a headstone for him as a token of gratitude. 

Mr. Hebert said, “We all can vote, worship at a church of our choice, work in a profession of our choosing. Sadly, this would not have come about without the Will Browns and Emmett Tills of the world.