Inside The Battle of Hayes Pond, When 500 Native Americans Chased The Ku Klux Klan Out Of NC
Inside The Battle of Hayes Pond, When 500 Native Americans Chased The Ku Klux Klan Out Of North Carolina
On Jan. 18, 1958, the Battle of Hayes Pond saw 500 members of the Lumbee tribe face off against the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan had decided to hold a rally in Maxton, North Carolina. But instead of drawing a cheering crowd of white supremacists, the Klansmen were routed straight out of town.
The Klan intended to hold a rally in North Carolina’s heavily Native American Robeson County in part to recruit new members and in part to intimidate the local population. It was being organized by James William “Catfish” Cole, a South Carolina Grand Dragon who wanted to expand his membership north.
But when the Lumbee tribe heard about the rally, they gathered rifles, shotguns, clubs, and stones and headed for Hayes Pond just outside of town, where the Klan had rented a small field.
When the dust settled after the Battle of Hayes Pond, the Lumbee had won a resounding victory. By standing up to the Klan, they ended a reign of terror against the Black and Indigenous communities in North Carolina.
More at https://allthatsinteresting.com/battle-of-hayes-pond?fbclid=IwAR3gPM-M1kHXhAR8oOvuiXlAc-QMzlzBfeCGmQfCksjj3RMEwxrVLQm4_6c
I just learned about this and somehow it seems oddly apropos to today.
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Thanks! 
