Black Land In White Hands: Reflecting on the Millican Massacre and the National Day of Racial Healing



Fort Worth, Texas – January 21, 2025

The National Day of Racial Healing will feature a powerful presentation titled Black Land In White Hands: The Lynching of Pastor George Edwin Brooks and the Massacre in Millican, Texas in 1868. Hosted at the Kirk Franklin Chapel of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, this event promises to shed light on a lesser-known chapter of Texas history, rooted in racial violence and resistance during Reconstruction.



The National Day of Racial Healing, established in 2017 by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, aims to foster conversations on the effects of racism and to chart paths toward transformational change. This year, the focus will turn to the Millican Massacre, a tragic episode of racial violence that claimed up to 300 Black lives in July 1868 and left an indelible mark on Texas history.



The Millican Massacre: A Legacy of Resistance and Tragedy



Millican, a small town 15 miles from present-day Texas A&M University, became the site of what scholars have called “the worst incident of racial violence in Texas during Reconstruction.” As tensions mounted, a rumor that a Black man, Miles Brown, had been lynched spiraled into a counter-rumor that Black residents were planning retaliation. What followed was a massacre orchestrated by white vigilantes that decimated Millican’s Black community.



Dr. Amy Earhart of Texas A&M University has been instrumental in researching the massacre and working with her students to establish a historical marker to honor its victims. “The Millican Massacre was a calculated act of violence designed to dismantle Black civil rights, particularly voting rights, in Texas,” Earhart explains. “The aftermath ensured African Americans were disenfranchised for nearly a century.”



The Heroism of Pastor George Edwin Brooks



Central to the story of Millican’s Black resistance is Pastor George Edwin Brooks, a former soldier in the United States Colored Troops and a Methodist minister. Pastor Brooks was a leader in organizing voter registration and community defense efforts in Millican. When the Ku Klux Klan marched through the town, he trained men in military tactics and set up protective perimeters for the community. Tragically, Brooks was lynched en route to Austin, where he had sought federal intervention to protect his congregation.



“Pastor Brooks was not only a victim but a hero of this history,” says Earhart. “His leadership symbolizes the agency and courage of Millican’s Black community, which fought to protect its rights and dignity in the face of overwhelming violence.”



Commemorating the Past, Confronting the Present



The presentation on January 21 will include a discussion of the ongoing efforts to preserve the history of Millican and honor figures like Pastor Brooks. Earhart and her team are completing a digital archive and preparing to install a historical marker to ensure this history is remembered. “Markers force us to engage with the past and reckon with how it shapes our present,” she states.



Rev. Kyev P. Tatum, Sr., Pastor of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church and a leading advocate for racial justice in Texas, underscores the importance of events like the National Day of Racial Healing. “Understanding our history is essential to healing our nation. The story of Pastor Brooks and the Millican community reminds us of the cost of racial injustice but also of the resilience of those who stood against it.”



Join the Conversation



The National Day of Racial Healing invites all to reflect on these histories and engage in dialogue about the path forward. The event will begin at 12 noon at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, 2864 Mississippi Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas 76104.



For more information about the event, visit www.newmountrose.com or contact Rev. Kyev P. Tatum at 817-966-7625.