Violated the Law
July 29, 1899
Summary
The authorities arrest the owner of an ice cream store for turning away a black man.
Transcription
Jackson, colored, today had Harry Tiedje brought into court. Tiedje keeps one of the large ice-cream places in this city. The charge against him is violating the civil rights law. As a result the city is showing signs of race trouble.
Jackson is a waiter. He had a half holiday yesterday and, with two colored girls, stopped into Tiedje’s restaurant, which was well filled with customers. He went to the table in the centre of the dining room and Tiedje followed. Tiedje is quoted as having said: “You cannot get ice-cream soda at the fountain, but no ice-cream at the tables. We do not serve colored people here.”
Jackson, who says he has “never before suffered indignity in public because of his color,” was offended. The girls with him cried and he led them out. The girls with him cried and he led them out. Then he returned and asked for an explanation. Tiedje said he had observed the rule of excluding colored people from his tables for years.
Jackson consulted lawyers, and early this morning Policeman Charles H. Case showed Tiedje a warrant for his arrest on the charge of misdemeanor. This had been issued on the advice of Fred E. Ackerman and Gains Bolin, the latter a colored lawyer. The lawyers went before Recorder Joseph Morchauser and swore out the warrant.
Colored people, of whom there are more than 1,000 in the city, are agitated about the case. Before the recorder Tiedje waived examination and was held for the grand jury in $500 bail.
Jackson is a waiter. He had a half holiday yesterday and, with two colored girls, stopped into Tiedje’s restaurant, which was well filled with customers. He went to the table in the centre of the dining room and Tiedje followed. Tiedje is quoted as having said: “You cannot get ice-cream soda at the fountain, but no ice-cream at the tables. We do not serve colored people here.”
Jackson, who says he has “never before suffered indignity in public because of his color,” was offended. The girls with him cried and he led them out. The girls with him cried and he led them out. Then he returned and asked for an explanation. Tiedje said he had observed the rule of excluding colored people from his tables for years.
Jackson consulted lawyers, and early this morning Policeman Charles H. Case showed Tiedje a warrant for his arrest on the charge of misdemeanor. This had been issued on the advice of Fred E. Ackerman and Gains Bolin, the latter a colored lawyer. The lawyers went before Recorder Joseph Morchauser and swore out the warrant.
Colored people, of whom there are more than 1,000 in the city, are agitated about the case. Before the recorder Tiedje waived examination and was held for the grand jury in $500 bail.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Lower Right Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Elias Sturim
Citation
“Violated the Law,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed April 24, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1040.