CU grad writes book about racial injustice in Pennsylvania
In August 1923, in Johnstown, Pa,, four policemen were killed in a shootout with an intoxicated Robert Young — who was rumored to have committed murder in Alabama before moving to the Northeast that year to work in a steel mill.
The night of the killings, Young and his wife, Rose, argued about her alleged adulterous acts. Robert Young ventured to nearby Franklin to purchase drugs and alcohol. When he returned, another confrontation erupted and the police were called.
Of the six officers he shot, four were killed. Robert Young also died in the crossfire. Young was Black, and while his moonshinefueled crime was condemned by community members of all ethnicities, his race would play an unfair part in the unlawful actions that followed.
In response to this crime, the mayor of Johnstown, Joseph Cauffiel, ordered more than 2,000 African- Americans and Mexicans — who had lived in the town for less than seven years — out of the community and threatened them with imprisonment if they didn’t comply. Local Ku Klux Klan members set crosses ablaze and used intimidation tactics to cause the minorities to flee. Some were forced to leave at gunpoint.
While notable civil rights activists, such as Marcus Garvey, spoke out about the incidents and multiple newspapers reported on them at the time, somehow these acts are unknown to the average American. Until now.
Pennsylvania- based journalist Cody McDevitt, a 2007 University of Colorado Boulder graduate and former reporter for the Somerset Daily American, has written “Banished from Johnstown: Racist Backlash in Pennsylvania,” which unearths the events of racial injustice that took place 70 miles from Pittsburgh. Released in January, the book has caught the attention of historians and national publications. We caught up with the author. Q. What sparked your interest in this part of history and led you to write the book?
Cody McDevitt: I had started as a reporter for a small newspaper in western Pennsylvania. I wanted to do a Black history story, and so I went to the local museum and its president casually mentioned that this had happened. Since all of my family members on both sides were from the area, I was stunned to learn that 2,000 African- Americans and Mexicans had been forced from their homes. That story hadn’t been passed down among many households in the area — white or Black. So I wrote it as a newspaper series, then I did it as a magazine article and now it’s in book form. I hope that it can be turned into a museum exhibit as well. I’ve done a series of lectures and presentations on it, too.
Q : What was your process like tracking down the descendants of people impacted?
A: There’s an old saying in journalism to go with what you have if your leads on research are exhausted. I think by publishing what I’ve found thus far that enough attention will be drawn to the story to flesh it out further. I started a Facebook page, the Rosedale Oral History Project, to help track those individuals down. And I’ve gone to Black churches and organizations in the area to involve them as we seek to reconstruct the story. Whatever I find in the future will be used in any updated version of this book.
Q : What are you hoping readers take away from your book?
A: We have a troubled and haunted racial past as a country. Acknowledging that is the first step to having a more inclusive society. Many of these incidents, which happened throughout the country, weren’t properly documented. As newspapers get digitized and documents become easier to research, I think more of these accounts will be written about. That’s our job as reporters, historians and writers.
Q : Given the current state of racial unrest in our country, do you see this book as a reminder of the dangers of stereotyping and taking action based on generalizations of race?
A: Criminalizing entire groups of people based on the actions of a few of its members is something we’ve seen throughout American history. As one person told me, white supremacy is deeply ingrained in our nation’s experience. It’s certainly a timely book and people have told me there are parallels between the book’s antagonist Joseph Cauffiel and President Donald Trump. Crime is committed by individuals and justice is administered on that level as well. Henry Louis Gates put it well by saying there are 42 million ways of being Black.
Q : You mentioned the possibility of bringing this story to the silver screen. What is your vision for this potential project?
A: I just signed with a film agent in Hollywood to market it to production companies out there. I think there’s room for both a documentary and an acted feature. It’s a poignant and gripping account that seems perfect for filmmakers to explore as a topic.
Q : What has the feedback been from readers and those interviewed for this project?
A: It’s been supportive — both from the Black community and the white community here. I think as more people become familiar with this story, then it will pay dividends in making our area a more inclusive place. We may not see this book’s true influence until decades from now. And I’m committed to working with Black leaders to realize that vision and future.