NEW YORK: The sole photograph related to the Houston Riot of 1917 shows 64 Black soldiers sitting with arms folded and legs crossed behind a rope. Their sheer number, in a courtroom otherwise populated by white men, suggests they’re part of the audience but they’re not. They’re the defendants in what’s considered the largest murder trial in American history.
Trai Byers (center) in a scene from ‘The 24th.’ AP PHOTO