On May 4, 1947, Union Springs Baptist Church eve service in #TroupCounty GA was ending as Gus Davidson shot angry Olin Sand in a confrontation over Sand's calf that was struck by Davidson's car. The black congregation scattered, some ran through the woods. After Troup & #HarrisCounty posse searched in vain for Davidson, his sharecropper parents, 3 brothers, 13 & 15 yr old sisters were arrested & beaten in jail for weeks. W.H. Buchanan, Harris police chief also arrested Henry "Peg" Gilbert, a 42 yr old church deacon, farmer & Troup landowner. Gilbert owned a smokehouse, a sizable farm, built an elegant home on his 100+ acre property & supported community self-sufficiency for African Americans. 4 days after his arrest, Henry Gilbert was found dead in the Harris jail. Bones all over Gilbert’s body had been crushed, skull shattered, one leg was broken & had 5 gunshot wounds. Gilbert’s wife, Mae Henry, said when she kissed her husband in his casket, she thought she was “kissing a sackful of little pieces of bone.” Shortly after she buried her husband, Mae Gilbert was also arrested & charged with harboring Gus Davidson. The complaint against her was dismissed. No charges were ever brought against the chief, or any deputy sheriffs for Gilbert's death, or assaults on the Davidsons. Henry Gilbert's property went on the auction block & was SOLD to a RELATIVE of OLIN SANDS for SIGNIFICANTLY LESS than its TRUE VALUE. Gilbert's 4 daughters were split up & raised by relatives. Mae Gilbert eventually moved to Detroit w 1 of her girls. In March 2018, #CivilRights & #RestorativeJustice Project convened Harris & Troup elected officials & community w Gilbert’s family at Union Springs. Harris sheriff Mike Jolley & others spoke publicly abt their role in Gilbert's murder. #TheFamilyTree author #KarenBranan spoke abt her grandfather Doug Hadley, Harris County sheriff's involvement. On Sat, #CRRJ hosts "Past Harms, Present Remedies: Law Enforcement & Families Affected by Historical Police Violence in Conversation" @loyola_nola to find pathways to meaningful accountability/closure, effective policing & community safety Source: https://crrj.northeastern.edu/henry-peg-gilbert/ (at Union Springs Baptist Church) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpISzOKAAKw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1t248a0ftbwg
