Protestors block students arrested in fraternity fight from entering courthouse

Protestors block students arrested in fraternity fight from entering courthouse

Reporting in Colfax for their first weekend in jail, five African American students charged in the Alpha Gamma Rho brawl are prevented from entering the courthouse by 75 students from different colleges who support them; they and all involved spent the night in a Colfax church which is surrounded by police deputies. The following day, 42 of those students surrender quietly and are in turn arrested; the five convicted students report to jail with no negative consequences, and the WSU Black Student Union later sends the county Sheriff a bouquet of roses for his role in preventing the situation from escalating into violence.

1969-02-28