The
ANTI-LYNCHING
CRUSADERS
$
'A Million Women United
to Suppress Lynching'
[Rational T)ire£tor
MRS. MARY B. TALBERT
521 MICHIGAN AVENUE, BUFFALO, N. Y.
Rational Organizer
MISS MARY E. JACKSON
351 WILLARD AVENUE, PROVIDENCE, R. I.
State Director for Connecticut
MRS. MARY T. SEYMOUR
420 NEW BRITAIN AVENUE, HARTFORD, CONN.
"A MILLION WOMEN UNITED TO SUPPRESS LY iNUH1 lMti'
ANTI-LYNCHING
CRUSADERS
OFFICE OF NATIONAL DIRECTOR
521 MICHIGAN AVENUE
BUFFALO, N. Y.
National Organizer
MISS MARY E. JACKSON
351 Willard Avenue
Providence, R. I.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
National Director,
Mrs. Mary B. Talbert
First National Vice-Director,
Mrs. Helen Curtis
Second National Vice-Director,
Mrs. Butler R. Wilson
Secretary,
Mrs. Lillian Alexander
Publicity,
jMrs. Grace Nail Johnson \
Mrs. Alice Dunbar-Nelson
Miss Jessie R. Fauset
Program,
Mrs. Etnah Boutte, Mrs. Nina Du Bois,
Mrs. Genevieve Cannon, Mrs. Laura Rol-
lock, Mrs. Lillian Ray Waller
Finance,
Mrs. Butler R. Wilson, Mrs. Helen Curtis,
Mrs. Mary Townsend Seymour, Mrs. Laura
Rollock, Mrs. Etnah Boutte
Campaign Literature,
Mrs. Sadie E. Fitz Allen, Mrs. Grace Fen-
derson, Mrs. Lucy Carr Brooks, Mrs. Lottie
Cooper
STATE DIRECTORS
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Dist. of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Mrs. Lynn Ross Carter
Mrs. L. B. O'Bryant
Mrs. Lulu Slaughter
Mrs. Laura Hill
Mrs. Mary T. Seymour
Mrs. Alice Dunbar-Nelson
Miss Nannie H. Burroughs
Mrs. Blanche Beatty
Mrs. George Williams
Mrs. A. L. Anderson
Mrs. Sallie W. Stewart
Mrs. S. Joe Brown
Mrs. Beatrice Childs
Mrs. Lizzie B. Fouse
Mrs. I. Nance Givens
Mrs. M. F. Wigginton
Mrs. Butler R. Wilson
Miss Meta E. Pelham
Mrs. M. M. Donovan
Mrs. Lawrence Jones
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Mrs. M. L. Crosthwaite
Mrs. J. W. Duncan
Mrs. Lulu Rountree
Mrs. Genevieve Cannon
Mrs. Helen Curtis
Mrs. A. L. E. Weeks
Mrs. Johnye E. Barnett
Mrs. Anna H. Cooper
Mrs. E. D. Cannady
Mrs. Daisy E. Lampkin
Miss Amey Harry
Mrs. Maggie H. Levy
Mrs. Nettie L. Napier
Mrs. Ethel Ransom
Mrs. Mary C. Johnson
Mrs. Margaret Johnson
Mrs. John E. Mapps
Mrs. Maggie W. Arter
Mrs. Clara C. Montgomery
Mrs. Ollie Redd
THE ANTI-LYNCHING CRUSADERS:
THE LYNCHING OF WOMEN
The Anti-Lynching Crusaders are a band of women organized to stop
lynching. Their slogan is: "A Million Women United to Stop Lynching.''
They are trying to raise at least one dollar from every woman united with
them and to finish this work on or before January 1st, 1923. The reason
that they believe this work to be of pressing importance is because of the
facts as to lynching which confront every American. First of all, how many
people realize that since 1889 eighty-three women are known to have been
lynched ? The record is as follows:
State
Colored
White
Total
State
Colored
White Total
1. Mississippi ....
. ...14
1
15
10.
Oklahoma
.... 2
2 4
2. Texas
8
2
10
11.
Florida
3
3
3. Alabama
9
9
12.
Missouri
.... 1
1 2
4. Georgia
. ... 8
8
13.
North Carolina
1 1
5. Arkansas
6
1
7
14.
Virginia
1 1
6. South Carolina
6
6
15.
Nebraska
1 1
7. Louisiana
.... 4
1
5
16.
W. Virginia . . .
1 1
8. Tennessee
.... 3
2
5
17.
Wyoming
1 1
9. Kentucky ....
2
2
4
83
Let us consider a few facts.
MARY TURNER
In May, 1918, a white plantation owner in Brooks County, Georgia, got
into a quarrel with one of his colored tenants and the tenant killed him.
A mob sought to avenge his death but could not find the suspected man.
They therefore lynched another colored man named Hayes Turner. His
wife, Mary Turner, threatened to have members of the mob arrested. The
mob therefore started after her. She fled home and was found there the
next morning. She was in the eighth month of pregnancy, but the mob of
several hundred took her to a small stream, tied her ankles together and
hung her on a tree head downwards. Gasoline was thrown on her clothes
and she was set on fire. One of the members of the mob took a knife and
split her abdomen open so that the unborn child fell from her womb to the
ground and the child's head was crushed under the heel of another member
of the mob; Mary Turner's body was finally riddled with bullets.
TULSA
On Greenwood Avenue in the colored section of Tulsa, Oklahoma, two
aged colored people, a man and his wife, lived. On the night of the Tulsa
riot, May 31, 1921, a mob broke into the home and shot both the woman and
her husband from behind. The home was then set on fire.
MISSISSIPPI
The New York Tribune says, February 8, 1904:
"Luther Holbert, a Doddsville (Mississippi) Negro and his wife were burned
at the stake for the murder of James Eastland, a white planter, and John Carr,
a Negro. The planter was killed in a quarrel which arose when he came to
Carr's cabin, where he found Holbert, and ordered him to leave the plantation.
Carr and a Negro, named Winters, were also killed.
"Holbert and his wife fled the plantation but were brought back and burned at
the stake in the presence of a thousand people.... There is nothing.... to
indicate that Holbert's wife had any part in the crime."
OKLAHOMA
An Associated Press dispatch in 1911 reads as follows:
"At Okemah, Oklahoma, Laura Nelson, a colored woman accused of murdering
a deputy sheriff who had discovered stolen goods in her house, was lynched
together with her son, a boy about fifteen. The woman and her son were taken
from the jail, dragged about six miles to the Canadian River and hanged from a
bridge. The woman was raped by members of the mob before she was
hanged."
OKLAHOMA
An Associated Press dispatch in 1914 reads as follows:
"Marie Scott of Wagoner County, a seventeen year old Negro girl, was lynched
by a mob of white men because her brother killed one of the two white men
who had assaulted her.... The mob came to kill her brother but as he had
escaped, lynched the girl instead."
MISSISSIPPI
In 1918, Dr. E. L. Johnston, a white plantation owner, was killed and a
colored boy was suspected of the deed. He was suspected because two
colored girls, sisters, were working for Dr. Johnston and both were pregnant
by the doctor. The boy was engaged to be married to the older. A mob
took the two girls, the boy and the boy's fifteen-year old brother to a bridge
and hanged them.
It is asserted that none of these four knew anything about the killing;
that Dr. Johnston had been killed by a white man for seducing a white
woman.
THE CAUSES OF LYNCHING
Most people assume that rape or attempted rape is practically the sole
cause of lynching. This is not true. From 1889 up until January 1, 1922,
there have been 3,465 known lynchings in the United States. In only 581 of
these cases, or 16.6 per cent., were there even an accusation of rape.
In the five year period from 1914 through 1918, 264 Negroes were
lynched in the United States, not counting those killed in the East St. Louis
riots. Of the 264 cases, rape was the alleged cause in only 28 cases. On
the other hand, in the single year of 1917 in New York County, one of the
five counties forming the city of Greater New York, 230 persons were in¬
dicted for rape, of whom 37 were indicted for rape in the first degree. Thus
it may be seen that in one county alone 9 more persons were indicted before
courts for rape in the first degree than there were lynchings of Negroes for
rape in the whole country during five years. And in the case of the Negroes
there was only accusation and no proof. Among the 37 persons mentioned
above there was not a single Negro.
From 1889 through January 1, 1922, the following causes of lynching
have been alleged by the mob leaders in the news dispatches:
Murder 1291
Rape 581
Crimes against the person other than rape (i. e., "striking white
man," "talking back to a white man," "refusing to turn out of
road to let white boy pass," etc.) 368
Crimes against property 343
Miscellaneous and petty offenses 454
Other crimes 264
No offense 163
In this connection two facts must be remembered. These alleged
causes are telegraphed from the places where the lynchings take place and
often the news gatherer is in sympathy with the mob. Secondly, if a mob is
determined to lynch a man it will more surely gain public sympathy if rape
is alleged rather than any other cause. It is fair therefore to assume that
in the above list the number of actual cases of rape has been greatly
exaggerated.
Two appendices follow. The first is a detailed list of the women lynched
in the United States from 1889 to January 1, 1922. Appendix No. 2 gives
the general statistics of lynchings in the United States.
APPENDIX I
DETAILED LIST
of
Known Lynchings of Women in the United States
1889-1922
NOTE: Names with (*) indicate white women.
ALABAMA
DATE
NAME
PLACE
ALLEGED OFFENSE
Apr.
15, 1891
Roxie Elliott
Centerville
Unknown
Aug.
1, "
Ella Williams
Henry County
Incendiarism
Aug.
1, "
Eliza Lowe
Henry County
' 66
Sept.
15, 1893
Emma Fair
Carrolton
Arson
Apr.
21, 1895
Mary Deane
Greenville
Murder
66
21, "
Martha Green
Greenville
"
66
21, "
Alice Green
Greenville
66
May
12, 1897
Molly White
Jefferson
66
"
12, "
Amanda Franks
Jefferson
(6
ARKANSAS
Jan.
18, 1892
Mrs. Baker
Northern Ark.
Murder
Feb.
10, 1892
Mrs. Brisco
Undetermined
Race Prejudice
Mar.
6, 1894
Unknown Woman Near Marche
Unknown
Aug.
9, 1898
Rilla Weaver
Clarendon
Murder
Apr.
6, 1901
May Hearn*
Osceola
66
Mar.
20, 1907
2 Col. Women
Stamps
Murderous Assault
Apr.
5, 1910
Laura Mitchell
Undetermined
Murder
FLORIDA
Sept.
2, 1910
Hattie Bowman
Graceville
Complicity in Murder
Aug.
19, 1916
Stella Young
Newberry
Accessory to Murder
Aug.
19, "
Mary Dennis
Newberry
66 66 66
GEORGIA
Jan.
22, 1912
Belle Hathaway
Hamilton
Murder
June
25, "
Ann Bostwick
Undetermined
Murder
Aug.
25, 1913
Virgie Swanson
Greenville
Murder (proved inno't)
Jan.
15, 1915
Eula Charles
Monticello
Resisting Arrest
Oct.
4, 1916
Mary Connell
Calhoun County
Accessory to Murder
May
17, 1918
Mary Turner
Valdosta
Unwise Remarks
Nov.
18, 1920
Minnie Ivory
Douglas
Unknown
Aug.
. . 1921
(According to Governor Dorsey's, "The
Negro in Georgia")
KENTUCKY
July
1, 1895
Mollie Smith
Trigg County
Murder
Dec;
29, "
Mrs. T. J. West*
Lebanon
Mob Indignation
June
14, 1904
Marie Thompson
Bullitt County
Murder
Oct.
4, 1908
Mrs. David Wallace* Hickory Grove
Threats
LOUISIANA
DATE
NAME PLACE
ALLEGED OFFENSE
Mar.
13, 1892
Ella Rayville
Attempted Murder
Nov.
2, "
Hastings Calahoula
No Offense
Jan.
12, 1896
Mrs. Morris* Orleans County
Miscegenation
Aug.
25, 1910
Laura Porter Monroe
Disreputable House
Mar.
1, 1917
Emma Hooper Tangipahoa
Murder
MISSISSIPPI
Sept.
28, 1891
Louise Stevenson Hollandale
Accessory to Murder
<<
15, 1893
Mahala Jackson Jackson
Well Poisoning
(6
15, 1893
Louisa Carter Jackson
Well Poisoning
July
24, 1894
Unknown Woman Simpson County
Race Prejudice
Jan.
26, 1898
Mary Pearson"" Near Natchez
Murder
Aug.
1, 1901
Betsy McCray Carrolton
Implicated in Murder
it
1, "
Ida McCray Carrolton
a a a
June
8, 1903
Colored Woman Smith County
a u a
Feb.
7, 1904
Mrs. Luther Holbert Doddsville
Murder
<<
9, 1909
Robby Buskin Houston
Murder
Nov.
25, 1914
Mrs. Fred Sullivan Bybalia
Arson
Dec.
21, 1918
Maggie House Shubuta
Murder
U
21, "
Alma House Shubuta
U
May
9, 1919
Unknown Pickens
Unknown
Apr.
4, 1921
Rachel Moore Rankin
Mother-in-Law of Man
Lynched
MISSOURI
Dec.
6, 1896
Jessie Winner* Lexington
Murder
June
17, 1914
Mrs. P. Collins West Plains
Unknown
NEBRASKA
Mar.
18, 1895
Mrs. W. E. Holton Kepapaha Co.
By Vigilantes
NORTH CAROLINA
Mar.
2, 1897
Girl* Morganton
Unknown
OKLAHOMA
Feb.
20, 1889
Mrs. John Pucket* Lyon Creek (Ind.T.) Unknown
Dec.
21, 1892
Cora* Logan County
By Indians
May
25, 1911
Laura Nelson Okemah
Murder
Mar.
31, 1914
Marie Scott Wagoner County
a
SOUTH CA tiOLINA
Dec.
5, 1895
Hannah Kearse Coljhton County
Accessory
Feb.
22, 1898
Dora Baker Laka City
Race Prejudice
Nov.
9, 1898
Rose Etheridge Phoenix
Murder
Nov.
18, 1898
Eliza Goode Greenwood
Race Prejudice
Dec.
27, 1902
Mrs. Wideman Tr|>y
Murder
July
13, 1914
Rose Carson Elljjree
«
TENNESSEE
DATE
Jan. 19, 1889
NAME
Feb.
Mar.
3, 1892
19, 1893
Mrs. Martin
Jessie Jones
PLACE
Tiptonville
Summer County
Jellico
ALLEGED OFFENSE
Robbery and Murder
Race Prejudice
Murder
Mar.
20, 1895
Harriet Talley
Petersburg
Arson
Mar.
3, 1897
Mrs. Wm. Whaley*
Sevierville
By Whitecaps
TEXAS
Feb.
10, 1894
Jessie Dillingham
Smokeyville
Train Wrecking
May
25, 1895
Mrs. John Crocker*
Wharton
Murder
July
20, "
Mrs. Abe Phillips
Mant
Race Prejudice
66
23, "
Unknown Woman
Brenham
66 u
66
20, "
Hannah E. Phillips
Mant
66 66
Aug.
2, "
Mrs. James Mason
Daingerfield
Unknown
Oct.
14, "
Floantina Suitta*
Catula
Murder
Feb.
13, 1912
Mary Jackson
Marshall
Complicity in Murder
June
4, 1918
Sarah Cabiness
Huntsville
Threat to Avenge
Killing of Brother
66
4, "
Bessie Cabiness
Hunts ville
Threat to Avenge
Killing of Brother
VIRGINIA
Oct.
2, 1897
Peb Falls*
Cowans Depot
Disreputable Character
WEST VIRGINIA
Dec.
5, 1894
Mrs. T. Arthur*
Lincoln County
By Whitecaps
WYOMING
July
22, 1889
Ella Watson*
S vveetwater
Cattle Stealing
APPENDIX II
NUMBER OF WHITE AND COLORED PERSONS LYNCHED IN THE
UNITED STATES—1889-1921
Total
1889-1918
t
1919
1920
1921
3,224
83
65
64
White
702
4
6
6
Colored
2,522
79
59
58
3,436
718
2,718
(Compiled by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.)