Isaac #Woodard Jr.
1919 – 1992

‘decorated African-American WWII veteran’

“On February 12, 1946, hours after being honorably discharged from the @USArmy , he was attacked while still in uniform by South Carolina police as he was taking a bus home”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Woodard
“ #Woodard, who was 26 years old, had just completed an arduous three-year tour in the U.S. Army, where he served in the Pacific …earned a battle star for unloading ships under enemy fire during the New Guinea campaign, & won promotions…rank of sergeant.” https://lithub.com/an-account-of-the-blinding-of-sgt-isaac-woodard-by-the-police-officer-lynwood-shull/
An Account of the Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard by the Police Officer, Lynwood Shull

On the cool winter night of February 12, 1946, Isaac Woodard Jr. climbed aboard a Greyhound bus in Augusta, Georgia, on his last leg home to Winnsboro, South Carolina, from a journey that had begun…

https://lithub.com/an-account-of-the-blinding-of-sgt-isaac-woodard-by-the-police-officer-lynwood-shull/
“Isaac #Woodard, an African-American man who was a decorated WWII vet & who was on his way home from the war, was kicked off a bus in SC & arrested after a disagreement w/the driver.

The arresting officer beat him so badly, he was blinded in both eyes.” https://www.wfae.org/post/charlotte-talks-how-blinding-isaac-woodard-changed-course-civil-rights-us
Charlotte Talks: How The Blinding Of Isaac Woodard Changed The Course Of Civil Rights In The U.S.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 The beating in 1946 of a decorated World War II veteran has reverberations reaching today. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel

https://www.wfae.org/post/charlotte-talks-how-blinding-isaac-woodard-changed-course-civil-rights-us
“wrongfully arrested and beaten by Batesburg (SC) Chief of Police Linwood Shull during a night in jail. Suffering from blindness and amnesia from the beatings, Sergeant #Woodard appeared before a local judge the next morning who fined him fifty dollars…”

https://www.archives.gov/atlanta/exhibits/item396-exh.html
“…Almost nine months later, in November, a jury in federal court in Columbia found Shull not guilty of all charges.”

Isaac #Woodard, Jr.
https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1275068604929601536?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1275068604929601536
“ #Woodard had difficultly seeing when he awoke the next morning altho the police claimed he could walk without assistance. Rather than taking him immediately for medical treatment, they hauled him before the local magistrate, who charged him with drunk…”

https://faculty.uscupstate.edu/amyers/conference.html
“…and disorderly conduct. #Woodard pled guilty and was given the choice of paying $50 or serving time in jail. He had only $44 in cash, however. The judge took the available money & suspended the remainder. The police escorted Woodard back to his cell…”

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266471491299926023?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266471491299926023
“…where they attempted first aid w/a hot towel and eye drops from a local pharmacy. [ #Woodard’s] condition did not improve, and at some point a local physician examined him. Later during the same day, apparently on the advice of the doctor, the police…”

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266469437844185088?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266469437844185088
“… drove him to the #veterans’ hospital in Columbia. #Woodard underwent treatment there for two months. He emerged completely sightless in April.”

1948
https://faculty.uscupstate.edu/amyers/conference.html

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1127615509091037185?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1127615509091037185
“…According to the Social Security Death Index, [Isaac #Woodard] passed away on 23 September 1992 in New York City after having lived forty-six years in darkness. The event received little or no publicity.”

1946
https://faculty.uscupstate.edu/amyers/conference.html
‘Town honors an African-American WWII veteran blinded in a 1946 police beating’

“ #Woodard had just gotten out of the Army in February 1946 and was on his way home when he got into a dispute with the bus driver after asking to get off to use the bathroom.” https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/11/us/isaac-woodard-blinded-historical-marker-trnd/index.html
Town honors an African-American WWII veteran blinded in a police beating

A South Carolina town has honored an African-American World War II veteran more than 70 years after he was beaten and blinded by local police.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/11/us/isaac-woodard-blinded-historical-marker-trnd/index.html
“A conflict was triggered when the bus driver belittled the Army #veteran for asking if there would be enough time for a bathroom break during a scheduled bus stop. It is reported that #Woodard argued back. At the next stop, Woodard was met by Chief of…” https://www.blythewoodonline.com/2019/02/county-honors-native-son-isaac-woodard-jr/
County honors native son Isaac Woodard, Jr. | The Independent Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County

BATESBURG-LEESVILLE – A commemoration and unveiling of a historical marker in Batesburg-Leesville on Saturday honored Winnsboro native Sergeant Isaac Woodard, a World War II veteran whose savage...

https://www.blythewoodonline.com/2019/02/county-honors-native-son-isaac-woodard-jr/
“… Police Linwood Shull of Batesburg who, along with his deputies, beat #Woodard savagely with their nightsticks.”

“Shull was tried in federal court but released after the jury deliberated only 30 minutes.”

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266461438064971789?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266461438064971789
“In February, hours after his discharge, Sgt Isaac #Woodard Jr broke Southern racial etiquette aboard a Greyhound bus in SC by getting into a dispute w/the driver & then failing to address the local police chief, whom the driver had summoned, as ‘sir.’…” https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-lasting-legacy-of-a-brutal-racial-beating-in-1946-south-carolina/2019/01/31/945a2dc6-1833-11e9-8813-cb9dec761e73_story.html
Review | The lasting legacy of a brutal racial beating in 1946 South Carolina

Richard Gergel recounts the blinding of soldier Isaac Woodard and its civil rights impact

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-lasting-legacy-of-a-brutal-racial-beating-in-1946-south-carolina/2019/01/31/945a2dc6-1833-11e9-8813-cb9dec761e73_story.html
“… The chief, Lynwood Shull, beat the decorated war veteran unconscious with a blackjack, driving the butt end of it into each of #Woodard’s eye sockets and permanently blinding him.”

“the type of violence he encountered was routine.”

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266472095996874753?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266472095996874753
“Soon into the ride from Georgia, #Woodard asked the bus driver if he could use the restroom. The white bus driver initially refused his request, but later in the trip he begrudgingly stopped in the town of Batesburg so Woodard could use the restroom. …”

https://carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu/isaac-woodard-a-forgotten-story-that-changed-history/
“…The bus driver, still furious over having to stop and reportedly not being addressed “sir” by #Woodard, told the white police chief of Batesburg, Lynwood Shull, about Woodard’s behavior. Shull and a few other police officers forcibly removed Woodard…”

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1273977577049333761?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1273977577049333761
“…who was still in his Army uniform, from the bus. Inside the jail, Shull brutally beat the WWII soldier, permanently blinding him.

The next day, #Woodard was convicted of drunk & disorderly conduct. He didn’t receive any medical attention for 3 days”

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1233060353795350529?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1233060353795350529
“In route, the bus stopped in Aiken, South Carolina. #Woodard asked the driver if there was enough time for him to use the restroom. Woodard said the bus driver cursed him and told him to go sit down. He persisted, asking to use the restroom until the…” https://www.postandcourier.com/georgetown/opinion/steve-williams-column-i-kept-trying-to-hush-him/article_ccd02f82-e47d-5234-a7d1-ac62ce0831a2.html
Steve Williams Column: 'I Kept Trying To Hush Him'

February is the month America celebrates the achievements of African-Americans, but I want to tell you about three white Americans who were so moved by the maiming of a black

https://www.postandcourier.com/georgetown/opinion/steve-williams-column-i-kept-trying-to-hush-him/article_ccd02f82-e47d-5234-a7d1-ac62ce0831a2.html
“… driver grudgingly acceded to the request.

Afterward, #Woodard returned to his seat, and the bus departed. Neither man said anything until the bus stopped again in Batesburg, a sleepy village 30 miles from Columbia. There, the driver summoned the…”

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1233051322632560642?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1233051322632560642
“…local police who ordered #Woodard off the bus.

After demanding to see Woodard’s discharge papers, police took him to a nearby alleyway, where they…beat him repeatedly w/their nightsticks bf taking him to jail & arresting him for disorderly conduct.”

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1163606526055071744?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1163606526055071744
“…During the trial, Shull admitted that he repeatedly struck #Woodard in the eyes, but claimed it was in self-defense. “I’m sorry I hit him in the eyes & blinded him…but I didn’t have time to pick a spot. He became unruly, & I kept trying to hush him.”…
https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266242360666517507?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266242360666517507
“… In his testimony, #Woodard said Shull asked him if he was honorably discharged. When he replied “yes,” immediately, Shull struck him with his billy club and said, ‘Don’t say yes to me, say yes, sir.’”

1946
#BlackVets
https://www.postandcourier.com/georgetown/opinion/steve-williams-column-i-kept-trying-to-hush-him/article_ccd02f82-e47d-5234-a7d1-ac62ce0831a2.html

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266852342684692481?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1266852342684692481
“ #Woodard requested medical attention, but remained in the jail for two days before a doctor was finally called in. Woodard was taken to a hospital in Aiken, SC, where he remained for almost 3 weeks. Once his family reported him missing, he was taken…” https://www.army.mil/article/217409/blinding_of_soldier_leads_to_desegregation
Blinding of Soldier leads to desegregation

Blinding of Soldier leads to desegregation

https://www.army.mil/article/217409/blinding_of_soldier_leads_to_desegregation
“…Once his family reported him missing, he was taken to an Army hospital in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Doctors determined there his eyes were damaged beyond repair.”

The Blinding of Isaac #Woodard
https://www.army.mil/article/217409/blinding_of_soldier_leads_to_desegregation

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1170067554636898309?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1170067554636898309
“I was no harsher than was necessary to complete the arrest,” the police chief told The AP in 1946. “I hit him across the front of the head after he attempted to take away my blackjack. I grabbed it away from him and cracked him across the head.”

#Woodard https://apnews.com/5510a1a3d28344568164de3419e0d747
Civil Rights Historians tell little known story of WWII vet

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Hours after leaving military service behind in 1946, a decorated African-American World War II veteran still wearing his uniform was removed from a Greyhound bus while heading...

https://apnews.com/5510a1a3d28344568164de3419e0d747
“ #Woodard…lost consciousness during the course of the beatings – even developing amnesia at some point – said, in court testimony, he was punched in his eyes multiple times by the police by their hands & they billy clubs as they were taking him to jail.” https://blackartblog.blackartdepot.com/black-history/remembering-isaac-woodard.html
Remembering Isaac Woodard: The Maiming of a War Hero by South Carolina Police Officers

In 1946, Isaac Woodward was left permanently blind after being brutalized by police officers in South Carolina. Learn more about his tragic story.

https://blackartblog.blackartdepot.com/black-history/remembering-isaac-woodard.html
“…Newspapers supported this account and documented the severity of the trauma to his eyes. It was as if they had been gouged and were now damaged beyond repair.”

Isaac #Woodard
https://blackartblog.blackartdepot.com/black-history/remembering-isaac-woodard.html

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1063789785427386368?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1063789785427386368
“The brutality and injustice of #Woodard’s treatment encapsulated the angst and outrage of the nation’s 900,000 returning black veterans”

“African Americans residing in the old Confederacy lived in a twilight world between slavery and freedom. They no…” https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2019/03/08/unexampled-courage-gergel-book
How A Long-Forgotten Act Of Police Brutality Transformed A Federal Judge, U.S. President And Civil...

After WWII, 900,000 African-American soldiers made their way back home. "Unexampled Couarge" tells the story of one of them, Sgt. Isaac Woodard, who was on his way back to his hometown in South...

https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2019/03/08/unexampled-courage-gergel-book
“…no longer had masters, but did not enjoy the rights of a free people. Black southerners were routinely denied the right to vote, segregated physically from the dominant white society as a matter of law & relegated to the margins of American prosperity.”
https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1216817299795202048?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1216817299795202048
“…African Americans living in other regions of the country faced their own racial challenges. This gaping chasm between the ideal world envisioned by white Americans and the real world experienced by black Americans represented…”
https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2019/03/08/unexampled-courage-gergel-book

https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1168016139676467200?s=21 https://twitter.com/desderamona/status/1168016139676467200
You can follow @desderamona.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:
There are a lot of misconceptions about the Turkish diaspora in Germany. Since i just finished writing an essay about this topic I thought it's time to give other people
Read more
Las mejores calculadoras online en 2020A thread http://totumat.com/2020/11/26/las-mejores-calculadoras-online-en-2020/ Cuando se estudian asignaturas que requieren de cálculos complicados, nada mejor que contar con una buena calculadora.
Read more
Mitigating #ClimateChange is as much about taking up new techs as about leaving others behindMost studies focus on #coal's global downfall but another #energy tech decline is loomingRead my new
Read more