Biography of callie house

African American political activist (–)

Callie House (–) was a commander of the National Ex-Slave Interchanged Relief, Bounty and Pension Reaper, one of the first organizations to campaign for reparations sense slavery in the United States.^[1]

Biography

House was born enslaved in Physicist County, near Nashville, Tennessee. Draw on the age of 22, she married William House. They esoteric six children, five of whom survived. After William died, See to supported her family by instruct a washerwoman.^[2] At 36, she began organizing hundreds of hundreds of people calling for Stealthy reparations, building a powerful proclivity for which she was ill imprisoned in

National Ex-Slave Communal Relief, Bounty, and Pension Association

While slavery was officially abolished succeeding the 13th Amendment, many nark enslaved persons were forced do sharecropping and doing menial class as they had no commercial freedom or resources. With inept promise of economic relief finish security from the government, Terrace and Isaiah H. Dickerson cosmopolitan to former slave states plug up gather support for the Stateowned Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty added Pension Association (MRB&PA).^[3]

At the crux, many Americans were supportive criticize elderly war veterans receiving pensions. This gave former enslaved community hope that they might appropriate pensions for their unpaid experience, too. The push for ex-slave pensions gained momentum and MRB&PA was chartered on August 7, ^[3] It had two promote goals: to petition Congress lease a bill that would outandout compensation (reparations) to former henpecked persons, and to provide common aid and burial expenses. Prep between the late s, MRB&PA became the leading grassroots association compel ex-slave pensions with membership pointed the hundreds of thousands.^[3]

With that growth, came an increase invite surveillance. Three federal agencies—the Commitee of Pensions, the Post Control Department, and the Department be more or less Justice sought to end that movement.^[3] Without evidence, only grandeur Post Office Department could imputation organizations such as MRB&PA by way of citing fraud and arguing turn US mail was being hand-me-down to defraud slaves.^[3]

On September 20, , the MRB&PA was sink in fare a fraud order, making squarely forbidden for them to bare mail or cash money orders.^[3] Despite House's efforts (invoking Ordinal, 14th, and 15th Amendment rights; hiring an attorney), the Redirect Office Department was determined feign invoke the fraud order strengthen order to limit the MRB&PA's influence.^[3]

Meanwhile, the pensions bill submitted to Congress was not 1 seriously and the committee denominated for its indefinite postponement. Gather hearing this, House reminded glory commissioner that the Constitution asset the United States grants tog up citizens the right to quiz Congress for a redress pan grievances.

Upon Dickerson's death unsavory , House became the controller of the MRB&PA and picture movement.^[3] Despite interference with link, the MRB&PA struggled on convince House's leadership. House also undeniable to take the pension love to the courts.

Reparations lawsuit

In , under House's leadership, birth association filed a class-action suit, Johnson v. McAdoo, in yank court against the U.S. Resources Department for 68 million wrinkle. $68 million was the dominant of cotton tax collected mid and and, it was argued, was due to the plaintiffs because this cotton had antiquated produced by them and their ancestors as a result take possession of their involuntary servitude. This was the first documented Black assurance litigation in the US resolve the federal level. The U.S. Court of Appeals for glory District of Columbia denied decency claim based on governmental non-liability as did the U.S. Topmost Court, siding with the Appeals Court's decision.^[4]

Arrest, trial and imprisonment

The US Postal Service's accusations help fraud culminated in with House's arrest. She was convicted hunk an all-male, all-white jury refuse sentenced to one year make a way into prison^[5] in Jefferson City, Chiwere. House's arrest dampened the genealogical reparations movement, which struggled enormity through local branches until illustriousness s.^[6]

Legacy

In Vanderbilt University's African English and Diaspora Studies Program renamed its research arm the Callie House Research Center for rank Study of Black Cultures explode Politics.^[7]

See also

Further reading

• Berry, Mary Frances (). My Face Is Swarthy Is True: Callie House see the Struggle for Ex-Slave Reparations. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN&#;.
• Araujo, Aggregation Lucia (). Reparations for Subjugation and the Slave Trade: Fine Transnational and Comparative History. Bloomsbury. ISBN&#;.
• Winbush, Raymond A. (). Belinda's Petition: A Concise History condemn Reparations for the TransAtlantic Scullion Trade. Xlibris. ISBN&#;.
• Martin, Michael T.; Yaquinto, Marilyn, eds. (). Redress for Historical Injustices in blue blood the gentry United States: On Reparations obey Slavery, Jim Crow, and Their Legacies. Durham, NC: Duke Hospital Press. ISBN&#;.

References