The Black Bean Incident was an episode in Texas history where Texican independence fighters were captured and marched into Mexico to be imprisoned. They escaped and were recaptured. After initially deciding to kill all the recaptured prisoners, the Mexican commander was persuaded to kill only a tenth of the men. On March 25, 1843, the prisoners were forced to draw from a jar containing 159 white beans and 17 black beans. Those who drew a white bean were spared. Those who drew a black bean were shot.

The band, Black Bean Incident, began as old friends got together to play music and sing with each other for fun. We combine our interest in history with our love for traditional music as we choose and perform songs from Texas and America’s past. Our music is acoustic, played on guitars and acoustic bass in the time honored folk style. We choose both well-known and obscure tunes to blend our smooth harmonies and string instrumentation into an authentic, front porch sound. We like to inject humor into our performances almost as much as humor likes to inject itself into our everyday lives.

The Side Story …

A member of our band, Jerry Richardson, was born and raised in Cameron, Texas – named for Ewen Cameron. Cameron immigrated to Texas from Scotland and joined the army to help win Texas independence. He was one of the fighters captured at the battle of Ciudad Mier, which precipitated the Incident. He lead the escape attempt on the march to Mexico City, and drew a white bean in the lottery. Nonetheless, because of his actions, he was sentenced to the firing squad and was executed. The story of the Black Bean Incident is taught to every elementary school student in Cameron as part of their Texas History lessons. Cameron is located in the very heart of Texas, equidistant from Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.