Between 1877 and 1950, racial terror lynchings of African Americans by white mobs in DeKalb County created a legacy of violence and injustice that has not been previously acknowledged. On July 26, 1887, a black man named Reuben Hudson, Jr. was riding on a Georgia Railroad train when a conductor…
The era of Reconstruction following the Civil War opened with great promise in Gainesville but soon gave way to racial terror, unparalleled violence, and racial oppression. White mobs lynched at least eight Black people during this period: Harry Franklin 1868; Mr. Stephens 1868; an Unnamed Person 1870; Christopher Cummings 1870;…
White mobs lynched at least four Black men in Gainesville between 1877 and 1950 in complete disregard for the legal system and their constitutional rights. On February 17, 1891, a white mob abducted Tony Champion from his jail cell and hanged him from a tree near NE 6th Street. Just…
Isaac Barrett, an African American tenant farmer, was lynched in St. Johns County, Florida, on June 5, 1897, after he was accused of assaulting the family of his white employer. According to press accounts, Mr. Barrett had a disagreement with the family about money owed to him, and the employer’s…
In Tallahassee, Florida, between 1897 and 1937, racial terror lynchings of African Americans by white mobs created a legacy of violence, intimidation, and injustice that has not been fully acknowledged. At least four racial terror lynchings took place in Leon County, traumatizing the entire Black community. These lawless acts of…
After the Civil War, emancipated Black people in Alachua County bought their own land and established a rural farming community from Jonesville to Newberry with farms, churches, a school, and local businesses. Many white residents were violently resistant to racial equality and terrorized Black people to enforce Jim Crow segregation…