Lynching in America / Lynching of Mack Henry Brown

Marker Text: On December 23, 1936, the body of a 40-year-old Black man who had been lynched named Mack Henry Brown was found floating at the confluence of Roswell’s Vickery Creek and the Chattahoochee River. Mr. Brown, who lived and worked at an apartment house in Atlanta, had been missing for over a month. Before his disappearance, a white man and his wife filed a complaint against Mr. Brown to the police, alleging that Mr. Brown kissed the wife’s hand after making repairs in their apartment. It was later reported that, on the night of November 13, a group of white men came to Mr. Brown’s apartment and abducted him. When Mr. Brown’s body was found on December 23, he was handcuffed and his feet were bound with wire. Though the date and precise location of his lynching were not determined, a coroner’s jury concluded that Mr. Brown died as a result of two bullets fired into his body. In this era, accusations against Black men and boys involving white women regularly provoked violent retaliation. Even minor interactions perceived as violations of the racial hierarchy could result in mob lawlessness and lynchings that traumatized and terrified the entire Black community. Two men were questioned about Mr. Brown’s lynching, but no one was ever charged or held accountable for his death. Memorializing lynching victims like Mack Henry Brown reminds us of our history of racial injustice and the need to remain persistent in the pursuit of equal justice.