Lynching in America / Lynching of Levi Harrington

Marker Text: Levi Harrington was a well-respected African American man who lived with his wife and five children near Kansas City. One of Mr. Harrington’s former employers described him as a “faithful…honest man,” who “was sober and industrious, saved his money, and cared for his family.” On April 3, 1882, a police officer was fatally shot in Kansas City, and suspicion was immediately directed towards Black residents. During this era, deep racial hostility burdened Black people with presumptions of guilt, often resulting in accusations that were unfounded and unreliable. As Mr. Harrington made his way through Kansas City that day, he was stopped by police and arrested. Despite the lack of evidence to indicate his involvement in the shooting, an angry white mob quickly formed and grew to several hundred people intent on lynching Mr. Harrington. The mob forcefully seized Mr. Harrington from police custody and lynched him by hanging him from a beam on the Bluff Street Bridge and shooting him. Although newspapers reported that Mr. Harrington was innocent of the accusations against him, no one was held accountable for the lynching of Levi Harrington.