1. Elbert Williams was an African-American civil rights leader from Brownsville, Tennessee who was killed by unknown persons.
18 Facts About Elbert Williams
1. 2.
Elbert Williams was one of the five charter members of the NAACP branch in Brownsville.
3.
Under a 2018 civil rights cold case law, Elbert Williams's case was reopened in August 2018 for renewed investigation by the state.
4.
Elbert Williams was born in 1908 in rural Haywood County, Tennessee to a sharecropper family.
5.
Elbert Williams's grandfather had been a slave Williams attended classes through eighth grade at public schools, although there were no buildings for black elementary students.
6.
Three days later, on the morning of June 23,1940, Elbert Williams's body was found in the Hatchie River.
7.
Elbert Williams had been killed; he was identified by his wife.
8.
On June 20,2015, a state historical marker to honor Elbert Williams was unveiled in Haywood County.
9.
Under Tennessee's new Civil Rights Crime Cold Case Law of 2018, Elbert Williams' case has been reopened.
10.
Elbert Williams was negotiating to purchase Elisha Davis's gas station and become a business owner.
11.
Elbert Williams had already joined the NAACP as a founding member.
12.
Annie Elbert Williams never saw her husband of eleven years alive again.
13.
Annie Elbert Williams walked to City Hall where Elbert Williams was supposed to be been held and could not find him.
14.
Elbert Williams spoke to Reed, who did not report having seen Williams.
15.
Annie saw that Elbert Williams had holes in his chest, and visible bruises indicating he had been beaten.
16.
Elbert Williams' head looked twice its size because it had been beaten so badly.
17.
Elbert Williams's neck was wrapped with a rope that was attached to a log to ensure he stayed underwater.
18.
Elbert Williams's death was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department.