1882, 52 Negroes murdered by mobs.
1883, 39 ” ” ”
1884, 53 ” ” ”
1885, 77 ” ” ”
1886, 73 ” ” ”
1887, 70 ” ” ”
1888, 72 ” ” ”
1889, 95 ” ” ”
1890, 100 ” ” ”
1891, 169 ” ” ”
Of this number,
269 were charged with rape.
253 ” ” ” murder.
44 ” ” ” robbery.
37 ” ” ” incendiarism.
4 ” ” ” burglary.
27 ” ” ” race prejudice.
13 ” ” ” quarrelling with white men.
10 ” ” ” making threats.
7 ” ” ” rioting.
5 ” ” ” miscegenation.
32 ” ” ” no reason given.
This table shows (1) that only one-third of nearly a thousand murdered
black persons have been even charged with the crime of outrage. This
crime is only so punished when white women accuse black men, which
accusation is never proven. The same crime committed by Negroes against
Negroes, or by white men against black women is ignored even in the law
courts.
(2) That nearly as many were lynched for murder as for the above crime,
which the world believes is the cause of all the lynchings. The world
affects to believe that _white_ womanhood and childhood, surrounded by
their lawful protectors, are not safe in the neighborhood of the black
man, who protected and cared for them during the four years of civil war.
The husbands, fathers and brothers of those white women were away for
four years, fighting to keep the Negro in slavery, yet not one case of
assault has ever been reported!
(3) That “robbery, incendiarism, race prejudice, quarrelling with white
men, making threats, rioting, miscegenation (marrying a white person),
and burglary,” are capital offences punishable by death when committed by
a black against a white person. Nearly as many blacks were lynched for
these charges (and unproven) as for the crime of rape.
(4) That for nearly fifty of these lynchings no reason is given. There
is no demand for reasons, or need of concealment for what no one is held
responsible. The simple word of any white person against a Negro is
sufficient to get a crowd of white men to lynch a negro. Investigation
as to the guilt or innocence of the accused is never made. Under these
conditions, white men have only to blacken their faces, commit crimes
against the peace of the community, accuse some Negro, nor rest till he
is killed by a mob. Will Lewis, an 18 year old Negro youth was lynched at
Tullahoma, Tennessee, August, 1891, for being “drunk and saucy to white
folks.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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