For decades, African American men were lynched by white mobs in Lafayette County. Most of these men were lynched because of interactions with white women which were characterized as “inappropriate” or “assaults.” These allegations against Black people were rarely subject to serious scrutiny. Instead, mobs frequently pulled lynching victims from…
On July 20, 1899, Giuseppe Di Fatta, Pasquale Di Fatta, Francesco Di Fatta, Giovanni Cerami and Rosario Fiduccia, all natives of Sicily, were murdered by a lynch mob in Tallulah, Louisiana. The murders triggered an international incident between the United States and Italy and President William McKinley, in his December…
The record of lynchings in Maryland from 1891-1906 May 13, 1891 – Asbury Green, Centerville May 17, 1892 – James Taylor, Chestertown June 8, 1893 – Isaac Kemp, Princess Anne October 20, 1894 – Stephen Williams, Prince George’s County March 16, 1895 – Marshall E. Price, Caroline County March…
Between 1898 and 1931, at least three Black men were victims of racial terror lynchings near this courthouse. On May 26, 1898, a mob of over 100 white people lynched Garfield King, a Black teenager who lived near present-day Allen, MD. Garfield was being held in the Salisbury Jail after…
On October 6, 1907, a white mob lynched an 18-year-old Black teenager known as William Burns in Cumberland, Maryland. Days earlier, William visited a saloon at the canal wharf after work. When he was accused of disorderly conduct and asked to leave, a local white officer came to arrest him….
John Taylor was born into slavery in Kentucky and was liberated by Union troops during the Civil War. In August 1864, he enlisted in the 1st Michigan Colored Infantry. After the war, Taylor worked for farmer John Buck in Delhi Township. When Taylor left to seek employment elsewhere, Buck refused…