The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United StatesWells-Barnett, Ida B.
History
The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States
Wells-Barnett, Ida B.
African Americans -- History -- 1877-1964; Lynching -- United States; Lynching -- United States -- Statistics
At the very moment when these civilized whites were announcing their
determination "to protect their wives and daughters," by murdering
Grizzard, a white man was in the same jail for raping eight-year-old
Maggie Reese, a colored girl. He was not harmed. The "honor" of grown
women who were glad enough to be supported by the Grizzard boys and Ed.
Coy, as long as the liaison was not known, needed protection; they were
white. The outrage upon helpless childhood needed no avenging in this
case; she was black.
A white man in Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory, two months after inflicted
such injuries upon another colored girl that she died. He was not
punished, but an attempt was made in the same town in the month of June to
lynch a colored man who visited a white woman.
In Memphis, Tennessee, in the month of June, Ellerton L. Dorr, who is the
husband of Russell Hancock's widow, was arrested for attempted rape on
Mattie Cole, a neighbor's cook; he was only prevented from accomplishing
his purpose by the appearance of Mattie's employer. Dorr's friends say he
was drunk and, not responsible for his actions. The grand jury refused to
indict him and he was discharged.
In Tallahassee, Florida, a colored girl, Charlotte Gilliam, was assaulted
by white men. Her father went to have a warrant for their arrest issued,
but the judge refused to issue it.
In Bowling Green, Virginia, Moses Christopher, a colored lad, was charged
with assault, September 10. He was indicted, tried, convicted and
sentenced to death in one day. In the same state at Danville, two weeks
before--August 29, Thomas J. Penn, a white man, committed a criminal
assault upon Lina Hanna, a twelve-year-old colored girl, but he has not
been tried, certainly not killed either by the law or the mob.
In Surrey county, Virginia, C.L. Brock, a white man, criminally assaulted
a ten-year-old colored girl, and threatened to kill her if she told.
Notwithstanding, she confessed to her aunt, Mrs. Alice Bates, and the
white brute added further crime by killing Mrs. Bates when she upbraided
him about his crime upon her niece. He emptied the contents of his
revolver into her body as she lay. Brock has never been apprehended, and
no effort has been made to do so by the legal authorities.
But even when punishment is meted out by law to white villians for this
horrible crime, it is seldom or never that capital punishment is invoked.
Two cases just clipped from the daily papers will suffice to show how this
crime is punished when committed by white offenders and black.
LOUISVILLE, KY., October 19.--Smith Young, colored, was today sentenced to
be hanged. Young criminally assaulted a six-year-old child about six
months ago.
Jacques Blucher, the Pontiac Frenchman who was arrested at that place for
a criminal assault on his daughter Fanny on July 29 last, pleaded nolo
contendere when placed on trial at East Greenwich, near Providence, R.I.,
Tuesday, and was sentenced to five years in State Prison.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account