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Rev. Robert McGuinn vs. Mason L. Weems
Rev. Robert McGuinn vs. Mason L. Weems
McGuinn, a Black minister, was a first-class passenger on the Weems. When he sat down for dinner at a table with white passengers, captain Thomas J. Cooper asked him to move. When he did not, Cooper had the passengers move instead. They later threatened him to the point that he disembarked early.
McGuinn sued Cooper, along with Weems owners Georgeanna Williams and Matilda S. Forbes. In January 1889, a decision was reached. Judge Morris had it both ways. McGuinn was treated badly and should have received the same accomodations as any passenger, such as eating at their table. But the other passengers were allowed to express their discomfort, and actions should be taken to remedy the problem. McGuinn did not win damages.
This article comes from the Daily Inter Ocean in Chicago, Illinois. A nearly identical article appeared on the same day in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The language is almost exactly the same, though the titles differ. The Chicago article is called "Judge Morris' Queer Decision: Risk Violation of the Civil-rights Law Permitted to Go Unpunished." The Philadelphia article is called "Civil Rights: Disadvtantages to Which a Colored Man Must Submit." Both imply that Morris should have been harsher on the Weems employees and defended Black passengers more forcefully.
Daily Inter Ocean, January 26, 1889: Legislative Acts/Legal Proceedings (Chicago)
Screenshot: America's Historical Newspapers
Freeman, April 13, 1889: Personal
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In April, just a few months later, McGuinn appealed the decision. The Freeman, the first Black illustrated newspaper in the U.S., notes that McGuinn was represented by E. J. Waring in the appeal. No details are given.
The paper was published in Indiana, again showing the interest in the case across the country.
Over a year later, a decision was reached. Judge Bond affirmed original decision. He explained that the situation was more detailed than originally portrayed: McGuinn had sat at a white table while there was an empty Black table in the same room. The accommodations were equal. When he didn't move, captain Cooper moved the other passengers to the empty Black table.
"The steamboat company made a separation but no distinction between passengers, and the appellant, by his conduct, appears to have been the only person on board who did so," the court said. "The libel ought to have been dismissed, as it was done."
An excerpt of the New York Age's coverage shows the decision. It cites a May 8 article by the Baltimore Herald.
New York Age, May 10, 1890: Separation Not Distinction
Screenshot: America's Historical Newspapers
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