Lynching in America / The Lynching of Hezekiah Rankin

Marker Text: On September 24, 1891, a mob of at least 20 unmasked white men lynched a Black man named Hezekiah Rankin. Earlier that evening, a white co-worker at the Western North Carolina Railroad wanted Mr. Rankin to perform duties unrelated to his job. Mr. Rankin declined, having previously been reprimanded for performing that specific task. His co-worker was insulted that Mr. Rankin would refuse the request of a white man, and the co-worker assaulted Mr. Rankin by throwing lumps of coal at his face. Mr. Rankin left the scene. When Mr. Rankin returned, he was verbally accosted by the white man resulting in a second encounter during which Mr. Rankin was accused of shooting him. A group of at least 25 white railroad employees and white residents seized Mr. Rankin and held him in a nearby roundhouse. Although notified, local law enforcement did not intervene. That night, the mob hanged Mr. Rankin from a tree along the French Broad River, just south of Smith’s Bridge near the current River Arts District. During this era, white lives held heightened value and any form of Black-on-white violence, including self defense, could spark white rage, mob violence, and lynching. Despite eyewitness testimony that identified mob members, a local jury conclude that Mr. Rankin came to his death “at the hands of parties unknown.” Charges initially brought against four men were dropped, and no one was held accountable for the lynching of Mr. Rankin.