"In Longview, Texas, in July 1919, S.L. Jones, who was a teacher and a local distributor of the black newspaper the Chicago Defender, investigated the suspicious death of Lemuel Walters. Walters was a black man who was accused of raping a white woman, jailed, and ultimately found dead under "mysterious" circumstances. When the Defender published a story about Walters' death, asserting that the alleged rape had been a love affair and Walters' death the result of a lynching, Jones came under attack, beaten by the woman's brothers.
Hearing a rumor that Jones was in trouble, Dr. C.P. Davis, a black physician and friend of the teacher, tried to get law enforcement to protect him from further violence. When it became clear that this help was not forthcoming, Davis organized two-dozen black volunteers to guard Jones' house. That same night, a mob surrounded the dwelling. Four armed white men knocked on the door, then tried to ram it down. The black defenders, who were arranged around Jones' property, opened fire. A half-hour gun battle ensued, in which several attackers were wounded; the posse retreated.
Hearing the town's fire bell ringing to summon reinforcements, Jones and Davis went into hiding, knowing that they wouldn't be able to defend themselves against a larger mob. Davis borrowed a soldier's uniform, put it on, and took the first of several trains out of the area. At one point, he asked a group of black soldiers he found in a train car to conceal him in their ranks, which they did, contributing to his disguise by giving him an overseas cap and a gas mask. Later that day, Jones also managed to escape. But their successful resistance and flight were bittersweet victories: Before the episode was over, Davis' and Jones' homes were burned, along with Davis' medical practice and the meeting place of the town's Negro Business Men's League. Davis' father-in-law was killed in the violence…"
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