Now, Woodard’s supporters are seeking to erect a civil rights marker honouring him in the town where he was attacked, saying his ferocious beating helped draw U.S. attention to the discrimination and mistreatment of blacks returning home from war. He deserves recognition for his place in the struggle for civil rights, they say. Historians say Woodard’s case — and the outcry it prompted — drove the first cracks into American segregation years ahead of the civil rights era. After little was done about Woodard’s beating for eight months, federal prosecutors ultimately charged Shull with violating Woodard’s civil rights. Duncan said he learned about the case decades later after discovering a civil rights book owned by his father.

Source: National Post May 27, 2018 12:34 UTC