African Americans | Page 11

Sophia Gardner

Sophia Gardner (Prince Honeycutt’s mother), undated. Used with the permission of Otter Tail County Society.

Prince Honeycutt and his family

The Honeycutt family, ca. 1905. Standing: Nancy Brown Honeycutt and Prince Albert Honeycutt. Kneeling at center: Albert and Inez Honeycutt. Seated, left to right: Rose and May Honeycutt. Used with the permission of Otter Tail County Society.

Prince Honeycutt outside his barbershop

Prince Honeycutt outside his barbershop in downtown Fergus Falls, undated. Used with the permission of Otter Tail County Historical Society.

Honeycutt, Prince Albert (1852–1924)

Born into slavery in 1852, Prince Honeycutt set a course for himself that led from Civil War battlefields in Tennessee to freedom in the North. He settled in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, in 1872, and his accomplishments there were milestones in the state’s history: the first Black professional baseball player, the first Black firefighter, and the first Black person to run for mayor. In addition, he used his business and leadership skills to assist other Black people moving from the Jim Crow South to rural Minnesota.

Willis, Dorsey (1886–1977)

On November 6, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt dishonorably discharged 167 African American infantrymen from their battalion at Fort Brown when they refused to confess to committing acts of violence in Brownsville, Texas, riot three months earlier. Dorsey Willis, the last surviving member of this battalion, lived in Minneapolis from 1913 until he died in 1977. In 1972, his dishonorable discharge was changed to an honorable one, and with the help of Senator Hubert Humphrey, he was allowed a pension of $25,000.

Dorsey Willis being interviewed

Dorsey Willis interviewed in January 1974. United Press International (UPI) photographs collection, Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives, Chapman University.

Dorsey Willis receiving an apology and honorable discharge

Dorsey Willis (center right) greets an Army representative at a ceremony granting him an apology and honorable discharge on February 11, 1973. The Army had dishonorably discharged Willis in 1906 for his alleged involvement in the Brownsville Incident. Olive Willis (Dorsey’s wife) stands at center left. Photograph by Larry Schreiber for the Minneapolis Star. From box 346 of the Minneapolis and St. Paul newspaper negatives collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Dorsey Willis at his honorable discharge ceremony

Dorsey Willis (second from right) with family members at a ceremony granting him an honorable discharge from the US Army on February 11, 1973. The Army had dishonorably discharged Willis in 1906 for his alleged involvement in the Brownsville Incident. Olive Willis (Dorsey’s wife) stands to his left. Photograph by Larry Schreiber for the Minneapolis Star. From box 346 of the Minneapolis and St. Paul newspaper negatives collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Olive and Dorsey Willis

Dorsey Willis (right) and Olive Willis, December 1972. Photograph by John Croft for the Minneapolis Tribune. From box 317 of the Minneapolis and St. Paul newspaper negatives collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Fort Brown

Old Fort Brown in Brownsville, Texas, ca. 1911–1917. Dorsey Willis and other soldiers of the Twenty-Fifth Infantry were living in the building during the Brownsville Incident of 1906. DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, via Wikimedia Commons.

Gale Family Library