“Looking for Justice”: The NAACP and the South Texas College of Law fight to pardon soldiers involved in the 1917 Camp Logan riots.

HOUSTON. One of Houston’s most beloved spots was also home to one of the city’s darkest chapters. You know it as Memorial Park, but in 1917 it was Camp Logan, a training camp for WWI soldiers.

“Today, people walk or run in the park without knowing the untold history of Camp Logan,” said Bishop James Dixon, president of the Houston chapter of the NAACP.

The all-black 24th Infantry was assigned to guard the construction at Camp Logan. These decorated soldiers arrived in Houston, a city full of racial tension and discrimination. They have witnessed terrible acts of racism and have witnessed terrible acts of racism.

“They just wanted to be treated like men and soldiers, and when they got to Houston, they didn’t get that,” said Professor Jeffrey Korn of the South Texas College of Law in Houston.

In late August, racial tensions erupted into a night of violence. It started when the police arrested and beat a black soldier who was trying to help a black woman who was dragged from her home by the police and beaten.

The black soldiers feared that the white mob was about to attack. Riots began.

When it was over, 19 people died. The army handed over 110 black soldiers to the tribunal.

This led to the largest murder trial in U.S. history, with 63 soldiers facing trial at the same time, with only 1 defense attorney representing them all.

“It wasn’t justice because they never had a chance,” Korn said.

All 110 were found guilty. 19 were executed without the right to appeal. All the rest are sent to prison. 40 were serving life sentences.

“We are correcting a mistake that happened in 1917, 104 years ago,” Korn said.

Now, more than a century later, the South Texas College of Law in Houston and the local NAACP have signed a memorandum of understanding pledging to seek overdue justice for soldiers.

“The punishment they served cannot be changed, but their reputation can be changed,” Korn said.

They ask the army to pardon them posthumously and honorably discharge them posthumously.

“The army has let them down and they can acknowledge it by granting this pardon,” Korn said.

For descendants like Professor Angela Holder, whose great-uncle was one of the executed soldiers, today’s move is one step closer to clearing her loved one’s name.

“I am very pleased with what has been done so far and just pray that we continue this,” Holder said.

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