Lynching

Lynching, defined According to the NAACP, lynching is… 1. an act of killing 2. the killing must be illegal 3. three or more people must have taken part in the killing 4. the killers must claim to be serving either justice or tradition

86 Years of Lynchings Causes Of Lynchings, 1882-1968 Number Percent Homicides 1,937 40.84 Felonious Assault 205 4.32 Rape 912 19.22 Attempted Rape 288 6.07 Robbery and Theft 232 4.89 Insult to White Person 85 1.79 All Other Causes 1,084 22.85 Total 4,743 100.00

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IMAGES ARE VERY GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING “We must first give statistics, which are horrible enough, and then a few details, which are more horrible.” -- P. Thomas Stanford, The Tragedy of the Negro in America

1893: Henry Smith

1911: Laura Nelson

1916: Jessie Washington

1920: Duluth lynching

1930: Thomas Shipp & Abram Smith

Strange Fruit Written by Abel Meeropol Performed by Billie Holiday Southern trees bear strange fruit Here is the fruit for crows to pluck Blood on the leaves and blood at the root For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck Black bodies swinging n the southern breeze For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees Here is a strange and bitter crop   Pastoral scene of the gallant south The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

Lynching Narratives 1. What is the name of the person who was lynched? You have been given excerpts from The Tragedy of the Negro in America, by P. Thomas Stanford. Read your excerpt carefully, and answer the following questions. 1. What is the name of the person who was lynched? 2. What was the crime lynched person was accused of? 3. Was there any evidence or proof of guilt offered? 4. What was the method of execution? 5. Did the lynchers kill the person they intended to kill? 6. Which detail from the story stood out to you? Why? 7. Is this an example of justice or injustice? Why?