Skip to content

You are using an outdated browser

Internet Explorer is not supported by this site and Microsfot has stopped releasing updates, therefore you may encounter issues whilst visiting this site and we strongly recommend that you upgrade your browser for modern web functionality, a better user experience and improved security.

Upgrade my browser

Remember that time the President showed a racist town that white supremacists don’t win?

5 min read

Better Society
Source: HistoryHustle

President Theodore Roosevelt closed the post office in Indianola, Mississippi, and rerouted the mail 30 miles after townspeople forced local Postmaster Minnie Cox out because she was Black.

President Roosevelt and the legacy of Minnie Cox

When Minnie Cox—the first Black female Postmaster—was pressured out of her position in Indianola, Mississippi, in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt continued to pay her salary and punished the townsfolk by rerouting their mail 30 miles away.

When Cox asked for help from the mayor and sheriff, they refused. Feeling she had no choice, Cox offered her letter of resignation. When President Theodore Roosevelt heard about what was happening, he was outraged. Roosevelt refused to accept her letter of resignation and continued to pay her full salary.
Minnie Cox: the threats became worse and Cox began to fear for her safety. When Cox asked for help from the mayor and sheriff, they refused. Feeling she had no choice, Cox offered her letter of resignation. When President Theodore Roosevelt heard about what was happening, he was outraged. Roosevelt refused to accept her letter of resignation and continued to pay her full salary. Source: HistoryHustle.com

Cox was originally appointed postmaster by President Benjamin Harrison

No one could have said that Minnie Cox was anything but a great postmaster, writes History Hustle. She was efficient and dedicated in her job. She was known to cover rent on post office boxes out of her own pocket, when residents were late paying. She even put in a telephone at her own expense, so people could call in to see if they had mail.

Cox was originally appointed postmaster for Indianola, Mississippi, in 1891 by President Benjamin Harrison. While Roosevelt eventually came to her defense, the National Postal Museum’s account of her tenure suggests that it was one of Roosevelt’s own policy positions that spurred the unrest against her: 

Initially very few complaints were raised about this postmaster. As time passed, however, concerns arose in Indianola. During this time, Republican politics were being restructured by President Theodore Roosevelt. This new political stance no longer followed the Reconstruction policy of making African Americans political appointments. Hoping to comply with this new political agenda, the white citizens of Indianola called for the elimination of African Americans from leadership positions, specifically the removal of Mrs. Cox. In doing so, they hoped to create an opening for a white postmaster.

Tensions were further inflamed by James K. Vardaman, editor of the nearby Greenwood Commonwealth newspaper and an unabashed white supremacist. Speeches and opinion pieces attributed to Vardaman in 1902 are quoted as saying that Indianola was wrong for “tolerating a negro wench as a postmaster.” 

Vardaman also wrote that “If it is necessary, every Negro in the state will be lynched; it will be done to maintain white supremacy,” although it is unclear whether Vardaman was specifically targeting Cox.

Writing for the Journal, Willard B. Gatewood reported that prior to the meeting of white residents, a petition calling on Cox to resign had already been distributed:

It is interesting to note that neither the petition nor a formal statement of the action by the assembled citizens was ever presented to her. Evidently those responsible for the movement to oust Ms. Cox were careful to leave no documentary record of their activities which might arouse publicity. Their precautions resulted in a kind of conspiracy of silence. Even the Indianola Enterprise [newspaper], usually so quick to publish local news items, omitted any mention of the mass meeting. 

Continued below…

On 14 July 2008, the Indianola post office was renamed in her honor with the passage of House Bill 4010.
The post office in Indianola On 14 July 2008, the Indianola post office was renamed in her honor with the passage of House Bill 4010. Source: HistoryHustle

Roosevelt ensured Cox’s salary would continue to be paid after the post office was closed

Roosevelt reportedly received Cox’s resignation notice on 5 December 1902. Instead of accepting it, however, the president ordered that the Indiananola post office’s operations be suspended, with service resuming on the condition that Cox be allowed to continue her duties. 

Furthermore, Roosevelt also ensured her salary would continue to be paid after the office was closed. In the meantime, Indiananola’s mail was rerouted to Greenville 30 miles away, and the Roosevelt administration ordered Attorney General Philander Chase Knox to prosecute anyone who had threatened Cox (although it is unclear whether many cases were actually opened before the latter initiative was ignored).

On 5 January 1903, Cox left Indianola, with residents reportedly saying that if she returned to the town she “would get her neck broken inside of two hours.” The post office was reopened the following year under the direction of a new white postmaster, William Martin.

Seizing on the furor surrounding both Cox’s appointment and Roosevelt’s actions in her defense, James Vardaman mounted a successful gubernatorial campaign in Mississippi in 1903. He held that office from 1904 to 1908, and he also served in the U.S. Senate from 1913 to 1919. 

In July 2017, the University of Mississippi moved to remove his name from a campus building after an internal report described him as “distinctly unworthy of honor.”

Cox never did return to her position as Postmaster, however according to Politico she and her husband eventually moved back to Indianola and opened the Delta Penny Savings Bank — one of the first banks in the state to be owned by African-Americans. Cox died in 1933.

On 14 July 2008, the Indianola post office was renamed in her honor with the passage of House Bill 4010.

Sources: Congress.gov|Politico|Snopes|Journal of African American History|History Hustle

Instead of accepting it, the president ordered that the Indiananola post office’s operations be suspended, with service resuming on the condition that Cox be allowed to continue her duties. Roosevelt also ensured her salary continued to be paid after the office was closed. In the meanwhile, Indiananola’s mail was rerouted to Greenville, 30 miles away.
President Theodore Roosevelt reportedly received Cox’s resignation notice on 5 December 1902. Instead of accepting it, the president ordered that the Indiananola post office’s operations be suspended, with service resuming on the condition that Cox be allowed to continue her duties. Roosevelt also ensured her salary continued to be paid after the office was closed. In the meanwhile, Indiananola’s mail was rerouted to Greenville, 30 miles away. Source: Simple.Wikipedia
Make an Impact

5 ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE AGAINST RACISM & DISCRIMINATION

The history of the world has seen too many crimes of hate and discrimination. But this doesn’t have to be the reality we live with. From the civil rights movement in the USA in the 1960s, to the fall of apartheid in South Africa, many people have come together to fight racism and discrimination, and they have achieved remarkable things. But the work is far from finished and we all have a role to play. There are things we can do as individuals, but we can also call on our decision makers to put in place policies and programmes to bring lasting change to our communities.