Oklahoma woman discovers family’s link to 1923 Catcher, Arkansas, race riot through DNA test
By Lakyra Banks
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VAN BUREN, Ark. (KHBS, KHOG) — As Black History Month wraps up, there is new information about a story 40/29 first brought viewers two years ago.
An Oklahoma woman says she recently uncovered her family’s connection to a racial massacre in Arkansas, and she only learned about it because of an ancestry DNA test.
Kaleda Ruck says her journey started with a simple search for family roots.
“We don’t have a lot of history. We don’t know a lot of our relatives,” Ruck said.
In 2017, her sister encouraged her to take a DNA test. What they discovered led them down a path they never expected.
“That’s what led her to find information about the race riot,” said Ruck.
In 1923, a white woman was raped and murdered in the small town of Catcher, Arkansas. The town once sat between Fort Smith and Van Buren. Today, on a single road remains.
Following the woman’s murder, three Black men were arrested, including Charles Spurgeon Ruck.
“Spurgeon Ruck was my great uncle on my dad’s side,” she said.
Historical accounts show hundreds of white men surrounded the jail, demanding the prisoners be handed over. When they were unable to reach them, mobs began threatening Black families and destroying property. Nearly 40 Black families fled the area.
“All of the Black citizens had to leave with the clothes on their backs, leaving homes, their land that they owned. As a result of that, that’s how my grandfather, Spurgeon’s half-brother, ended up in Oklahoma City,” said Ruck.
Spurgeon Ruck was later convicted and executed by the state for the woman’s death, despite lawyers at the time and researchers now saying there was no evidence linking him to the crime.
Kaleda said learning what happened was both painful and powerful.
“It was very informative to get the information, but it was disappointing, the situation that happened and that they probably didn’t get justice. They didn’t have a fair trial. There was no investigations or evidence,” she said.
Now, she hopes for justice.
“Definitely justice for their namesake,” Ruck said. “I think them being exonerated would be wonderful. I know with them being deceased, there’s only so much that can be done.”
She says telling the story matters because it’s not just her family’s history.
” I think it is very important to share to students, to adults, to the elderly, to everybody because this is an important part of American history that happened that nobody knows about,” Ruck said.
Two years ago, 40/29 spoke with University of Arkansas history professor Michael Anthony, who was conducting an extensive study into the Catcher Race Riot.
Kaleda credits Anthony for much of what she now knows about her great uncle.
A documentary, “Catcher: Breaking the Code of Silence,” was also released. It tells the story of the Catcher race riot.
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