On September 17, 1901, Alice Moore Dunbar went to the viewing of the recently deceased President William McKinley at the Capitol building in Washington, D. C. The large crowd became unruly and, as police tried to control the chaos, Alice was injured. Paul mentioned the incident in letters to his mother Matilda in Chicago, and to a friend who was a physician.
Alice went to the president's funeral and got her ear tapped with a policeman's club. It is not serious but we have reported it anyway. The crowd was awful.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Matilda Dunbar, September 19, 1901. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 2).
There are many other things against me now to keep my cheerfulness in check. Mrs. Dunbar was injured at the President's funeral, brutally struck by a policeman in the surging crowd. I returned the same day after having a nice big hemorrhage on the train. Altogether I am in a blue funk.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Dr. F., September 20, 1901. "Unpublished Letters of Paul Laurence Dunbar to a Friend." The Crisis (New York, New York). June 1920. Page 74.
The Dunbars enlisted several of their friends to write letters of protest to Major Richard Sylvester, the police department superintendent.
It has been brought to my notice that on the day of the funeral of President McKinley, a most unprovoked assault by a police officer upon Mrs. Paul L. Dunbar was committed. Permit me to say that my thorough knowledge of Mrs. Dunbar in connection with the statements of reliable eyewitnesses to the affair prompts me to offer a protest against such brutality upon respectable citizens. I hope and believe that this act of the officer in question will be subjected to the fullest investigation and be dealt with accordingly.
Dr. John R. Francis to Richard Sylvester, September 24, 1901. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
Similar letters were written by Charles R. Douglass (a son of Frederick Douglass), Francis Grimke (a Presbyterian minister), J. W. Lyons (register of the U. S. Treasury), George Cook (a professor at Howard University) and Daniel Murray (assistant librarian at the Library of Congress). Major Sylvester replied to each letter, assuring the writers that a court martial would begin as soon as eyewitnesses could be interviewed. He wrote to Paul twice asking for their names.
Your communication at hand, and I will be pleased to have the names and addresses of witnesses as you propose. Members of this force have been repeatedly advised against harshness toward citizens, and if in my power it shall be avoided.
Richard Sylvester to Paul Laurence Dunbar, September 26, 1901. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
Alice also received letters of support from Charles Douglass and Coralie Franklin Cook (the wife of Professor Cook). She was a prominent educator, suffragist and founder of the National Association of Colored Women.
I want to express my sympathy to you in this matter. As soon as I heard the affair, I felt like going to you and offering my services to accompany you to the Chief's office to enter a protest against keeping that man on the police force. It is long since I have felt so incensed over anything. It seemed to me as if every colored woman in Washington had a share in the indignity offered you.
Coralie Franklin Cook to Alice Moore Dunbar, October 3, 1901. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
The investigation resulted in hundreds of pages of testimony, much of it conflicting. Ultimately, the Dunbars' complaint was dropped.
Police Officer William Kemp was charged with having assaulted Mrs. Paul Laurence Dunbar, wife of the noted colored poet, the 17th of last September, during the panic which occurred the afternoon the late President McKinley lay in state in the rotunda of the Capitol. Policemen and soldiers were temporarily overwhelmed by the surging of the twenty thousand people. A number of people were injured in the crush. It is claimed that during this panic Officer Kemp, without provocation, struck Mrs. Dunbar a stinging blow on the left temple with his stick. The waist which she wore was drenched with blood. Miss Anita J. Turner and Ralph B. Stewart both testified positively and unequivocally that they saw the officer strike Mrs. Dunbar. Officer Kemp was sworn, and testified that he did not strike Mrs. Dunbar; but that she struck him three times upon the nose, causing it to bleed. Mrs. Dunbar stated that she did not strike the officer on the nose.
"A Celebrated Case." The Evening Star (Washington, D. C.). January 13, 1902. Page 7.
The case has been well considered by the municipal authorities. The charge against the officer was one of assault and not one of mere violation of the police manual. A letter was addressed to the attorney of Mrs. Dunbar suggesting proceedings in the Police Court. The complainant, however, announced yesterday that she did not wish to pursue that course. Maj. Sylvester was required to take testimony privately. Commissioner Ross made an abstract of the several hundred typewritten pages of testimony. The evidence covered in detail the position of the woman and the alleged assailant and the condition of the crowd by many witnesses. Commissioner Ross said he was sorry the complainant would not carry the case to the Police Court. He said the testimony did not satisfy his mind that the officer struck the complainant. The case will now rest.
"Mrs. Dunbar Drops Case." The Washington Post (Washington, D. C.). January 14, 1902. Page 12.