John Earl Reese, 16, Shot Dead by Klan in Texas Dance Hall

On October 22, 1955, 16-year-old John Earl Reese is shot and killed when white men fire into a dance hall in Mayflower, Texas. The Ku Klux Klan carries out the attack to intimidate Black residents who had petitioned for better school facilities. One attacker is convicted but receives a suspended sentence and serves no time. Reese's murder is part of a pattern of Klan terrorism against Black communities seeking educational equality.