New Orleans Massacre Of 1866

New Orleans Massacre Of 1866. . (side 1) , On July 30, 1866, a delegation of Black men and white allies assembled at the Mechanics Institute to reconvene the 1864 Louisiana constitutional convention. The Black community was determined to gain the electoral franchise, and the delegates hoped to secure their right to vote in the state constitution., Before the meeting began, a large procession of Black supporters playing music and carrying the American flag marched past angry white opponents and gathered outside the Institute. Tensions were high and scuffles soon erupted. The police and an angry white mob opened fire, first attacking the gathering outside, and then invading the building., More police and several companies of armed firefighters joined the fray. Upwards of one hundred Blacks were murdered. Three white convention delegates were killed. Over one hundred wounded Blacks were forced into city jails or sent to Marine Hospital., "It was no riot," reported General Philip Sheridan. “It was an absolute massacre by the police” (Continued on other side). (side 2) (Continued from other side). The New Orleans Tribune, America's first Black daily newspaper, reported: "Black men were assassinated by scores. They fell inside of the Hall, outside of the building, in the neighboring streets, and even in distant parts of the city where they were tracked liked dogs." The Tribune described scenes of "defenseless people murdered in cold blood, innocent men pursued from house to house and from street to street, black children taken out of the city cars and mercilessly murdered on the sidewalks of Canal Street, wounded men piled up in carts and fired at by the rebel police, dying men refused a drop of water, prisoners inhumanely treated in the cells of the City Hall and threatened to be hung within a few hours.", The Mechanics' Institute massacre shocked the nation and helped initiate Radical Reconstruction in Louisiana. In 1867, Black men achieved the right to vote and championed a groundbreaking state constitution that included strong civil rights protections.