Lemuel Penn
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Lemuel Augustus Penn (September 19, 1915 – July 11, 1964) was the Assistant Superintendent of Washington, D.C. public schools, a decorated veteran of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
and a Lieutenant Colonel in the
United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...
who was murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan, nine days after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. An
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, Lemuel Penn joined the Army Reserve from
Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
and served as an officer in World War II in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
and the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, earning a Bronze Star. When he was murdered at the age of 48, he had been an assistant administrator for the public schools in Washington, D.C., and the father of two daughters and one son, Linda, 13, Sharon, 11, and Lemuel Jr., 5. In the 1940s, Penn had worked for
Gunnar Myrdal Karl Gunnar Myrdal ( ; ; 6 December 1898 – 17 May 1987) was a Swedish economist and sociologist. In 1974, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences along with Friedrich Hayek for "their pioneering work in the theory of money a ...
on the landmark study of race relations, ''
An American Dilemma ''An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy'' is a 1944 study of race relations authored by Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal and funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York. The foundation chose Myrdal because it thought that as a ...
'', and is cited in that book's acknowledgments.


Murder

Penn was driving home, together with two other black Reserve officers, to Washington, D.C. from
Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...
returning from their annual summer training camp. Their
Chevrolet Biscayne The Chevrolet Biscayne was a series of full-size cars produced by the American manufacturer Chevrolet between 1958 and 1975. Named after a show car displayed at the 1955 General Motors Motorama, the Biscayne was the least expensive model in the ...
was spotted by three white members of the
United Klans of America The United Klans of America Inc. (UKA), based in Alabama, is a Ku Klux Klan organization active in the United States. Led by Robert Shelton, the UKA peaked in membership in the late 1960s and 1970s,Abby Ferber. '' White Man Falling: Race, Gender, ...
– James Lackey, Cecil Myers and Howard Sims – who noted its D.C. license plates. Howard Sims – one of the killers – then said "That must be one of President Johnson's boys", evidently motivated by racial hatred.Thompson 2004. The Klansmen followed the car with their
Chevy II The Chevrolet Chevy II/Nova is a small automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, and produced in five generations for the 1962 through 1979, and 1985 through 1988 model years. Nova was the top model in the Chevy II lineup through 1968. The Chevy II ...
with Sims saying "I'm going to kill me a nigger". The shooting occurred on a Broad River bridge on Georgia State Route 172 in Madison County, Georgia, near Colbert, twenty-two miles north of the city of
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
. Just before the highway reaches the Broad River, the Klansmen's Chevy II pulled alongside Penn's Biscayne. The Klansman, Cecil Myers, raised a shotgun and fired; from the back seat, Howard Sims, also a member of the Ku Klux Klan, did the same. Penn was killed instantly. Authorities quickly identified James S. Lackey, also a Klansman, and Myers and Sims as the ones who chased the trio of Army reservists. Sims and Myers were tried in state superior court but found not guilty by an
all-white jury Racial discrimination in jury selection is specifically prohibited by law in many jurisdictions throughout the world. In the United States, it has been defined through a series of judicial decisions. However, juries composed solely of one racial ...
. Federal prosecutors eventually charged both for violating Penn's
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. On June 27, 1966, criminal proceedings began against Sims, Myers, Lackey, and three other local Klansmen, Herbert Guest, Denver Phillips, and George Hampton Turner. Two weeks later, Sims and Myers were found guilty of conspiracy charges by a federal district court jury; their four co-defendants, however, were acquitted. Sims and Myers were sentenced to ten years each and served about six in federal prison. Howard Sims was killed with a shotgun in 1981 at age 58. James Lackey died at age 66 in 2002. Cecil Myers died in 2018 at the age of 79. The historical marker erected by the
Georgia Historical Society The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, examined, and tau ...
, the Lemuel Penn Memorial Committee, and Colbert Grove Baptist Church at Georgia Highway 172 and Broad River Bridge on the Madison/Elbert County Border states:
On the night of July 11, 1964 three African-American World War II veterans returning home following training at Ft. Benning, Georgia were noticed in Athens by local members of the Ku Klux Klan. The officers were followed to the nearby Broad River Bridge where their pursuers fired into the vehicle, killing Lt. Col. Lemuel Penn. When a local jury failed to convict the suspects of murder, the federal government successfully prosecuted the men for violations under the new Civil Rights Act of 1964, passed just nine days before Penn's murder. The case was instrumental in the creation of a Justice Department task force whose work culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
Penn's murder was the basis of the Supreme Court case '' United States v. Guest'', in which the Court affirmed the ability of the government to apply criminal charges to private conspirators, who with assistance from a state official, deprive a person of rights secured by the
Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Often considered as one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and e ...
.


References


Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links


Lemuel Penn's tombstone
at Arlington National Cemetery
This Day in Georgia History - July 11, 1964 - Lemuel Penn Killed
Provided b
Georgia Info

This Day in Georgia History - August 31, 1964 - Trial in Lemuel Penn Murder Case Began
Provided b
Georgia Info
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, Lemuel Augustus 1964 deaths 1964 murders in the United States Victims of the Ku Klux Klan People from Washington, D.C. Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Murdered African-American people People murdered in Georgia (U.S. state) Racially motivated violence against African Americans Deaths by firearm in Georgia (U.S. state) July 1964 events in the United States Deaths by person in Georgia (U.S. state) Ku Klux Klan in Georgia (U.S. state)