Lynching in America / The Lynchings of Henry and Ephraim Grizzard

Marker Text: In the spring of 1892, one of the most violent public events in Nashville’s history occurred at this site. On April 24, 1892, two black men were accused of assaulting two white women near Goodlettsville. Henry Grizzard and Ephraim Grizzard, brothers, were arrested on suspicion, along with three other black men. During this era, the deep racial hostility that permeated Southern society burdened black people with a presumption of guilt that often focused suspicion on black communities after crimes were alleged. whether evidence supported that suspicion or not. Without a trial, Henry was lynched the next day by white residents of Davidson and Sumner County at Mansker’s Creek. Ephraim, however, was taken to Nashville’s jail to await trial. On April 30th, leaders of an angry white mob violently abducted Ephraim from the jail and hanged him from the Woodland Street Bridge before piercing his body with hundreds of bullets. Thousands of “well-to-do, respectable citizens” supported lawless mob violence that threatened the black community. Ephraim Grizzard’s body was taken back to Goodlettsville, where it was burned publicly to further terrorize black residents. Black community members who sought to protest and complain about racial terror lynchings were themselves threatened with violence and forced to flee the community, adding to the trauma and tragedy surrounding these lynchings.