Lynching in America / The Lynching of Bowman Cook and John Morine

Marker Text: On September 8, 1919, a mob of 50 White men lynched two Black veterans of World War I, Bowman Cook and John Morine. This was during the Red Summer of 1919, when Black veterans returned from the war determined to overcome racism and discrimination at home, and many White communities responded with violence. In Jacksonville, several Black taxi drivers were killed by White riders. Jacksonville officials refused to investigate, placing Black drivers at greater risk. To protect themselves, Black cab drivers began refusing White passengers. When a White rider was refused service in mid-August, he indiscriminately fired a handgun into a crowd of Black people. In an era when accusations against Black people rarely faced scrutiny, police alleged that this man was killed on August 20 by Mr. Cook and Mr. Morine, and they were arrested. Three weeks later, before either man could stand trial, a mob abducted them from the Duval County Jail, drove them to North Main Street and Cemetery Road, and fatally shot them. They left Mr. Morine’s body in a ditch, then dragged Mr. Cook’s corpse behind a car for nearly 50 blocks before dumping his mangled remains on Hogan Street near the Confederate monument in Hemming Park. Lynchings and public mutilations were intended to enforce white supremacy, and lynch mobs would sometimes abandon the victim’s body in a prominent space. No one was ever arrested or charged for lynching Bowman Cook and John Morine.