American (White People) Atrocities Against Negroes - 1900 to 1964

(Main Menu Page)


In this blog I am going to list only those incidents where white people (the recognized 'Americans' in our time frame of 1900 to 1964)  attacked a Negro(es) without cause or provocation, and/ or attacked a negro(es) with violence that far exceeded the offense committed. Incidents will include murder, attempted murder, rape and serious injury. Again, only for the years 1900 to 1964.

------------------------------------------------------
>>>Here is the LIST of African American Violence against white people from 1900 to 1964. LINK

------------------------------------------------------
Girard, La.- 1901

Negro Stole Some Soda Pop ... Then Punched The Proprietor In The Face When The Proprietor Caught Him - And For The Punch In The Face ... The Negro Was Lynched

Negro Lynched
Louis Thomas
source
------------------------------------------------------
1902 - Chastain, Ga

Negro Is Shot Dead By Unknown White Males When He Stepped Out Of his Home

Negro Victim:
Harry Young (no known motive)
source
------------------------------------------------------
1902 - Pembroke, Ky

White Male Goes Crazy...Murders Negro Female And Negro "Aged" Male

White male murderer:
Lloyd Young

Victims:
Rebecca MacRay
Joseph Landy

Note: Negroes formed a lynch mob to track down the white male. However, he had already been arrested and was therefore under the protection of the sheriff. This is the only case I can find where a white male, unprovoked, set out to kill innocent negroes. Thousands of cases of blacks doing this sort of thing to innocent white people.
source
-----------------------------------------------------
1904 - Clark County, Ga.

Negroes Create A 'Club' In Georgia To Murder White People - Infuriated White Males Go After Them...And Some Innocent Blacks Pay the Price

* Ed Martin (paid price for black murderous club)
* Jack Troy (paid the price for black murderous club   source
source
----------------------------------------------------
 1904 - Eutawville, S. C. 

Negro Lynched For Trivial Offense - Ears Cut Off And Riddled With Bullets - Governor Gets Detective Agency Involved To Hunt Down Perps - Five White Men Arrested And Held With No Bail

Negro
Kitt Bookhardt
source
------------------------------------------------------

 1905 - Tullahoma, Tenn. 

Americans Lynch Negro - Accuse Him Of Larceny

Negro Lynched

Ronce Gwynn

Note: This not a common lynching crime. Might have been more to it. 

source

------------------------------------------------------
 1906 - Springfield, Mo.

American Female Apparently Made Up Rape Story - Two Negroes Lynched  (burned alive)

source
Note: Grand jury decided the two negroes could not have possibly been involved in the rape reported by the white female.

------------------------------------------------------

1906 

White Male Offers $1,000 Reward For Arrest Of His Own Son Who Allegedly Shot And Killed A Negro In A Quarrel 

Note: This one hardly rises to the level of an atrocity, however, I found it interesting.

source

------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------

 1906 - Rosebud, Tex. 

One Of The MANY Problems Faced By Americans In The Early 1900s Was Disrespectful Behavior Toward Them From Negroes - That is, Negroes Attempting To Establish Black Supremacy By Bullying or Terrorizing White People

 A Negro Apparently Walked Up To A White Male And "Pushed" Him To The Ground - Angry Friends Of The Farmer Track Down The Negro... And Then Lynched Him

Lynched Negro
 Mitchell Frazier 

Note: The white farmer apparently suffered no serious injury.  Seems the local white guys simply would not take such disrespectful behavior from the negro;  or, perhaps they were were sick and tired of hearing about this kind of disrespectful behavior from negroes and decided an object lesson should be made of this negro.   Either way, a lynchings was way out of line here.

source

------------------------------------------------------

 1906 - Bayou Plaquemine, La.

Negro Lynched For Cattle Theft - Stole One Cow

Negro Thief:
William Carr

Note:  Times being what they were, there was no gov't food programs for the hungry. Stealing a person, or family's, food was a very serious matter. It was also a common problem for Americans to discover a negro had robbed them of their food. Still, one cow?!  Seems a lynching was way out of order here.   source
-------------------------------------------------------
 1908 - Navasota, TX 

Negro Pulls Knife On American And Slashes Him  - American Mob Gathers and Seizes Negro From Caboose - Then Lynches Him

Note: His victim, who was a white male and County Commissioner, J.T. Barry, was not seriously injured and recovered from his wounds. This crime hardly rises to the level of one usually creating mob violence. However, one must not forget, back in those times, white males in most part of America had NO tolerance for disrespect from the black man.

Victim:
John Cambell
source
------------------------------------------------------
1908- Albany, GA.

Night Riders...Terrorize Negro Community - Burn School and Churches
(Note: negro rape of a white female appears to be the motive for the terror and burnings. No negro was reported to have been killed or injured)
source
------------------------------------------------------
1908 - Tifton, Ga.

Black 18-years-Old...Walks Up To Young White Female And Says: "I want you for my sweetheart"...Negro Is Arrested...Then Lynched

Negro Victim:
Charlie Lackie
Note: Negro was said to be "problem" or troublemaker in the area. Seems to be a case of very persistent harassment.
source
------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
1908 - Birmingham, Ky.

"Night Riders" Terrorize Negroes - One Murdered - Five Whipped - Negroes Told To Leave Town

Note: It was not reported what angered the local whites against the negroes. Night-riders were also know as "whitecaps".
source
------------------------------------------------------
1908 - Shreveport, La.  

Negro Found Not-Guilty  In  Home Invasion Murder  Of  White Woman - American Mob Still Lynches Him

Negro:
Bird Cooper
source
------------------------------------------------------
1908 - Hickman, Ky

Negro Insults White Woman & Threatens White Male -- Mob of 50 White Males Show Up At Negro Cabin...Burns  It  To  Flush Out Negro...Then  Guns  Down Negro Plus His Family

Victims:
Dave Walker
5-year-old
Mrs. Walker
Note: The murder of three people because of an "insult?"  Seems to be more to this incident.
source
-----------------------------------------------------
1909 - Monroe, La.

Negro Files Suit Against White Male Who Killed His Cow - Negro Gets Lynched

Note: This may not fit under the definition of "lynching" as it appears likely that the white male who the negro filed his suit against was the principle in the lynching effort. The white male probably took a few kin folk with him to do the job, which would make this a personal vendetta issue.   Source
-----------------------------------------------------
1909 - Aiken S. Carolina

Without Provocation American Guns Down Negro  - Found Guilty Of Murder - Judge Gives Him $150.00 Dollar Fine

Murderer:
Dave Jeffcoat
source
-----------------------------------------------------
1909 - Dawson, Tx.

Negro Lynched By Mob For "Insult" To White Female

Negro:
Joe Redden

Note: Just what the "insult"  was...was not revealed. I doubt it was just a comment. Likely negro grabbed the white female in an inappropriate  way.
source
-----------------------------------------------------
1910

Negro Gunned Down - Unprovoked - Apparently One Of Many White Males Who Hated The Presence  Of  The Negro In Their City

Victim:
 William Smith

Note: White male fled, so his reason(s) for shooting the negro are not known. The negro's companions reported the incident to police. Negro victim said to be in serious cond.
source 
-----------------------------------------------------
1910 - Monroe, LA

Negro Female Abducted From City Jail...Taken To Bridge , Then Thrown Into The River (she is believed to have drowned) 

Victim:
Laura Porter
Note: Negro female, who ran a whorehouse, was accused of staging robberies against white males.
source
----------------------------------------------------
1910 - Jefferson City , MO

Two Negroes Get Lynched -- They Deliberately Provoked Anger Among Whites  By  Over Celebrating Black Prize Fighter's Victory In A Boxing Match Over A White Man

source
-----------------------------------------------------
1910 - New Madrid, Mo

Negro And His Pals Told By Sheriff To Disperse,  Instead...Negro Slugs Sheriff - Arrested - Negro Is Later Lynched By White Mob

Source
-----------------------------------------------------
 1911 - Manchester, Ga.

Negro Punches American Male In The Face - Mob Forms And Seizes Negro From Town Jail...Then Lynches Him                      

Over a punch? Negro should have been given the same treatment he dished  out - a punch in the face. Maybe white people back then believed if they didn't answer such negro behavior with strong measures...well, it might lead to some primitive negro game where they walk up on a white person and sock him/her in the face for no reason.  Nah, couldn't happen -- definitely couldn't happen.
source

------------------------------------------------------
1911 - St. Mary, Ga.

White Man Murders Negro Woman & Her Daughter - Found Guilty...Legally Executed By State Of Georgia

Murderer:
J.A. O'Berry
source
------------------------------------------------------
1912 - Columbia, S. C.

Negro Lynched For Refusing To Pay Debt

Negro Victim:
Henry Fitis
* This lynching deserves more information.
source
------------------------------------------------------
1912 - Norway, S.C.

Negro Accused Of Petty Theft Abducted By Small Group Then lynched

(could be lynchers were negroes - article isn't specific)

Negro victim;
John Felder
source
------------------------------------------------------
1914 - Grovetown, Ga.

Negro Steals Shoes - Group Of Americans

Abduct Him From The Town Jail...Then Lynch Him

Negro Victim:
Charley Jones
source
------------------------------------------------------
  1914  - Byhalia, Miss. 

Two Negroes (husband & wife) Lynched- Accused Of Burning A Plantation Barn

By today's standards, this seems like a ridiculous excuse for summary justice. I do wonder if arson was a hanging offense in Mississippi?  Anyhow, barns can be rebuilt. This case deserves more details.

Negro Victims:
Fred Sullivan
May Sullivan

source
------------------------------------------------------
1915 - Jasper County, GA 

Wealthy American Plantation Owner Ran Plantation "In Near Slave-Like Conditions" - 11 Negroes Found MURDERED

Note: Apparently, all the negroes who were murdered were considered a threat to the plantation owner, John Williams, who feared they'd squeal to authorities about the working conditions at his plantation. WOW source

------------------------------------------------------
1915 - Miss.

Americans Lynch Negro For Being Critical  Of  How Local White Women Dress

Negro:
John Taylor
source
------------------------------------------------------
1915 - Jackson, Miss.  

Innocent Negro Lynched By American(?) Mob - Thought He'd Stole A Cow 

Apparently, negro Ed Johnson just happened to be at the wrong place and at  the wrong time.  The wife of a farmer who was a black,  noticed her cow missing and assumed it was stolen. Details are lacking, but a mob formed and found Johnson near the scene of the alleged crime. They accused him of stealing the cow.  Despite his protests of innocence, he was hung. The cow that was thought to have been stolen actually just wondered off and was found a few hours after the hanging.  
Note: Since the cow's owner was a negro, it could very well be that the mob was also negro. 

source
source
------------------------------------------------------
1916 - S. Carolina

South Carolina Mob Hunts Down Two Negro Males And Then Lynches Them - The Two Had Passed A Lone White Female And Said "Hello Sweetheart"

Note: Seems to me that there was likely more to this incident.
Source

------------------------------------------------------
1916 - October , Abbeville, S. Carolina

A Negro Is Lynched For Disrespectful Behavior Toward A White Man (Well, He Also Attacked Another White Guy With A Hammer -- Apparently In Self-Defense)

Anthony Crawford, 51

"On October 21, 1916, [Anthony] Crawford was taking two loads of cotton and a load of seed into Abbeville and had a disagreement over the price of cottonseed with W.D. Barksdale, a white store owner. After Crawford left the store, one of Barksdale's employees followed him outside and hit him on the head with an ax handle."  Wikipedia

Note the word "disagreement" appears in the above narrative as the sole provocation for the white mob violence. Well,  a lot more than just a mere "disagreement" is needed to provoke a mob reaction.

--------------------

"Charleston News & Courier (now the Post and Courier) described Crawford as "rich, for a negro, and he was insolent along with it"."

What really happened:  Of course, I wasn't there. But I can reasonable read between the lines here - just as you can. Black male Crawford,  who was known to have a short fuse, didn't like the price he was offered for his cottonseed by business owner , W.D. Barksdale.  He then became irate and allowed his temper to get the best of him and started insulting Mr. Barkdale.   Whereupon  Mr. Barksdale ordered Crawford to leave his store. However, a young white employee took exception to the insults hurled at  his employer and grabbed an ax handle and went after the Negro.  Note: Wikipedia's article on this incident states that Crawford was "hit in the head" with the ax handle. This seems highly unlikely, as that should have rendered any man unconscious. Archived newspaper article below also mentions nothing about Crawford being struck in the head.  More likely, the employee was taking wild swings at Crawford and Crawford was defending himself with his arms and yelling for help.

After a policeman arrived at the scene, Crawford, for his own protection, was taken to jail. Crawford should have stayed there. However, with Crawford's surly temperament, one could rightly expect he was indignant with the white sheriff for arresting him and demanded to be released immediately. The sheriff set a high bail of $15.00, probably hoping the Negro did not have the money on him and would therefore have to wait until the following day to get out.  Around town, the news of the insulting behavior of the Negro was also getting around.

Again, Crawford should have stayed where he was.

 Crawford paid the $15.00 fine and was then released, though the sheriff ushered him out the back door, hoping he would not be seen. That, however, was not to be   A small group of  locals noticed Crawford and decided to teach the Negro a lesson in manners.  No one should doubt  had Crawford simply submitted to a beating, he at least would have survived -- with a painful lesson learned.  But Crawford decided to flee.  Crawford was eventually cornered by the mob, whereupon, he decided to grab a hammer to defend himself. Naturally, if the Negro hit any American with that hammer and caused serious injury it would only add to the violence against him.  And that's exactly what happened. Crawford struck a white male in the head. Likely, his comrades thought him to be dead.  Crawford's fate was now sealed.  In the end, he got a terrible beating, then, while he languished in pain at the city jail that night, he was hauled out by a white mob, beat some more, then lynched.

Archived newspaper article source

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Crawford_(lynching_victim)

Note: This is the only incident I could find - so far - of such an out-right hate murder by white people.  And also the only lynching for the city of Abbeville, S.Carolina from 1900 to 1964.  No question about it though, white people in the South back then had a mighty thin skin for  disrespectful behavior from the Negro  (yes, gone are those days --  i.e.  the post civil rights era ...the racist black BULLY reigns supreme...and whatever the racist  black BULLY dishes it out  - violence, insults, etc. - white people sit back and take it).

------------------------------------------------------
1918 - Sheffield, Ala.

Negro Vows To "Get A Cop" - He's Arrested...Then Lynched By American Mob

Note: This incident happened a day after a negro murdered a white police officer. The prevailing mood of the local white people at that time... obviously they wanted to send a message to the negro criminal element that attacks on white people, including even threating a white person,  would be dealt with swiftly.
source
------------------------------------------------------
May 1919 - Millan, Ga

Elderly Negro Lynched - He'd Shot At White Males Who Came Into The Black Section And Harassed A Negro Woman

Lynched Negro
Berry Washington, 72
source

------------------------------------------------------
1921 - Little Rock, Ark.

Negro's Letter To White Woman Results In A Lynching

Negro:
Robert Hicks

Note: No mention of the content of the letter.  If it contained anything of sexual nature or a threat of any kind...at this time in American history in some parts of the country ...this was grounds for a lynching -  to protect the woman's honor.  source

------------------------------------------------------
1946 - Dooley County

For Some Strange Reason Americans In Georgia Lynch Negro For Drunkenness

Negro:
Lewis Harris, 50     source
------------------------------------------------------

1946 - Guernsey, Tex.

Nero Lynched By Mob...Over Fist Fight

Note: Seems the fight was over a "drinking cup" which was reserved for white men.  source
------------------------------------------------------
1946 - Georgia 


 Four Negroes Lynched By  American Mob - Including Two Females

"The 1946 Georgia lynching was a quadruple killing that took place in the northern part of the U.S. state of Georgia in the summer of 1946. Done on a bridge in Walton and Oconee counties between Monroe and Watkinsville, the case attracted national attention. While the FBI investigated in 1946, it was unable to prosecute. New publicity in the 1990s led to a new investigation, but the case has not been solved."  Wikipedia

The most shocking thing about this crime is the lynching of two Negro females and a Negro male, who had nothing to do with the knife attack on the American male (Barnette Hester).  Apparently, the American did survive.

Victims:
George W. Dorsey 28
Mae Murray Dorsey, 23

Roger Malcolm, 24  (guilty of knife attack)
Dorothy Malcolm ? (wiki reports her birthday as same day of lynching - I seriously doubt it)

Note: Even though a black male did provoke this incident, the retribution for the crime was sickeningly overkill.
----------------------------------------------------------

November 2, 1959 -- Corinth, Miss.

American Boy's 'Prank' Turns Deadly

This one doesn't exactly rise to the level of an atrocity but I'll include it anyways.

Eight American teenagers were driving around when they came across a group of Negro boys.  Desiring to have a little "fun" they threw firecrackers at the Negroes.  In retaliation, the Negro boys threw rocks at the boy's truck, striking it numerous times. It seems the boys thought it was maybe gunfire. The driver of the truck,  teenager, Darnell Glidewll, 16,  either went home to retrieved a shotgun or had one in his truck. He then fired it in the direction of two Negro boys, who apparently were not part of the Negro group who threw the stones.  The blast mortally wounded one of the boys and slightly wounded the other.   Glidewell was sentenced to five years in state prison. 

Note: Local Americans took up a collection drive and gave $150.00 to the parents of the deceased boy.  Neither before compulsory integration (July 2, 1964) nor after it,  is there one recored example where African-Americans ever took up a collection for the injured or dead American (white) victim of a black crime.

Negro Victim:
William Roy Prather , 15

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=348&dat=19600128&id=2-UtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VjEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5327,2596004
---------------------------------------------------------

Tallahasse, FL  1959


Four White Males Gang Rape Black Female  - Each Sentenced To Life In Prison

Four American males, William Collinsworth, Ollie Stoutamire, Patrick Scarborough, and David Beagles,  apparently in a premeditated scheme, decided to rape a Negro female. With a shotgun the four approached a car with four Negro occupants (two males and two females). One Negro female, Betty Jean Owens, was abducted and taken to a secluded place ... where all four proceeded to rape her repeatedly.

For unknown reasons, the American boys allowed the other three Negroes to go on their way.  They went straight to the police.  A "group" (unknown number) of American police officers went looking for the Negro girl. They found her in the back seat of the assailants' car (wiki states she was discovered "bound and gagged" but this likely wasn't the case, since there were four assailants i.e. no reason to bind and gag her - where could she go?).  The four American males were arrested, convicted, then given life prison terms.

Note: Had these rapists did their deed in Virginia, they likely would have faced the same fate the Martinsville Seven faced:: the death penalty.

Also of Note: From wiki::  "In 1965, David Beagles was paroled. Four years after he was released, he tracked down an African American woman that he thought was Owens and murdered her and buried her in a shallow grave. However, he murdered Betty Jean Robinson Houston, an entirely different woman."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Jean_Owens

---------------------------------------------------------------

August 28, 1955 --  Money, Mississippi

14-Year-old Emmit Till's  Abduction And Murder

First things first.  Let's debunk the legend of Emmett Till as the happy-go-lucky young little Negro boy who,  while walking casually down the street, whistled at a white women.  And for THAT act, a mob of white males abducted the Negro boy, then executed him. This version is woefully inaccurate. 

THE REAL VERSION:: Emmett Till was no "little boy."  Though he was 14-years-old he stood 5"8' (not 5"4' as Wikipedia states)  and weighed 150 lbs. That is, Till looked older than his 14-years.  Emmitt Till lived in Chicago.

Emmett Till was in Money, Mississippi, with his mother visiting her brother. That Till lived in Chicago is important.  While Till most likely could get away with (did get away with?) grabbing white females and manhandling them in Chicago (apparently he went to an integrated school), in Mississippi, there was an entirely different culture regarding interaction of males and females.  In the South at this time, Americans still observed a long tradition of respecting and protecting womanhood, and males were expected to act against any violators. Emmett Till, prodded by other young Negro boys, crossed the line. For this he was abducted and murdered by two American males.

Flashpoint:: On a hot August day, Emmett Till met up with some young Negro boys (younger than him) in Money, MS.  Till's  new friends (if one could actually call them 'friends'), no doubt out of boredom, cooked up a prank to play on him.  It involved a bet (for a reported 25 cents) to go up to a white female and either ask her for a date or get her to come over to them. Till's little friends were playing with fire here.  They knew it. They also knew that Emmit Till, should anything go wrong, would be the fall guy. Till, unfamiliar with the ways of the South, and also likely wanting to impress his little friends, as well as pocket .25c, agreed to do it.  

Carolyn Bryant, an attractive 21-year-old American female who worked at a store where Emmett Till and his friends were hanging out, was selected as the one Till was to approach.

Carolyn's gives her account of the what happened next:
"Carolyn Bryant later asserted that Till had grabbed her at the waist and asked her for a date. She said the young man also used "unprintable" words."

The American female, frightened out of her skin by the grabbing and insistence of the Negro, broke free from his grasp and raced to her truck to get a gun.  Yes, a gun. That's how terrified she was (no little boy of 5' 4" could have cause that level of freight).  At this point, Till and his buddies ran from the scene. 

Till should have received a strong talk about the ways of the South ... and that should have been the end of it. However, two American males, John William "J. W." Milam and Roy Bryant, 24, who was the husband of Carolyn Bryant, decided stronger measures were called for.  After Bryant found out it was Till who assaulted and terrorize his wife, in the late night hours he and Milam ( along with two Negro men) went out to the house where he was staying and at gunpoint abducted him.

Emmett Till was found three days later submerged in a lake with a bullet wound in his head.

Though the prosecutor seemed to have an ironclad case of guilt,  an all-American jury refused to convict the two. Bryan and Milam never spent a day in jail for this crime. A year later in an article for a magazine, both admitted they killed Emmett Till. 

Note: Though Emmett Till's  own  actions created the provocation for his murder (likely the main reason the all-American jury acquitted the two American males),  still, since we're dealing with the action of a young boy, I believe the age of the boy outweighs the provocation here. This incident rises pretty close to an atrocity.

BTW, if you believe black boys at Emmett Tills age are just too young to rape, rob or murder, here's a LINK to dispel that myth.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 15, 1963 -- Birmingham, AL

Church Bombing - Four Negro Girls Die

There's something VERY fishy about this one. I'm looking into before I give a crime report.  BTW, there's no question these girls were killed by bomb planted at a Negro church. But who really planted the bomb?  Stay tuned...


------------------------------------------------------------------------------