Lynching in America / Lynching of Howard Cooper

Marker Text: On July 13, 1885, a white mob lynched Howard Cooper, a 15-year old Black child, here at the former Baltimore County Jail. Months earlier, Howard was accused of the assault and rape of a white woman near Rockland, and fled. During this era, accusation of Black-on-white rape or assault required no credible support, and Black people were often lynched for things they did not do. Howard was caught on the Edward Rider farm and transferred to Baltimore City, as angry white men threatened his life. In May, an all-white jury found Howard guilty of assault and rape, even though the victim did not testify she was raped. The jury never left the courtroom, reaching its verdict in less than a minute. The rape conviction triggered the death penalty. Howard was transferred back to Towson as his attorneys appealed his conviction to the state’s highest court. That appeal was denied. Rev. Harvey Johnson of Union Baptist Church led a campaign to fund an appeal to the US Supreme Court, but in July a white mob unlawfully stormed the jail, dragged the 15-year old from his cell and hanged him from a nearby sycamore tree. Howard’s body was displayed so angry white residents and local train passengers could see his corpse. Later, pieces of the rope were given away as souvenirs. Howard’s mother, Henrietta, collected her child’s remains and buried him in an unmarked grave in Ruxton. No one was ever held accountable for her son’s lynching.