Lynching in America / The Lynching of Robert Clark

Marker Text: On June 13, 1891, a mob of white people brutally lynched a 20-year-old Black man named Robert Clark, in a wooded area in Bristol, Virginia, known as Lindsey’s Grove believed to be a quarter mile south of here. The mob, numbering as many as 3,000 people, hanged Mr. Clark from a tree after kidnapping him from the city jail. Mr. Clark had been arrested after being accused of sexual impropriety with a white woman. Almost 25% of lynchings involved allegations of inappropriate behavior between a Black man and a white woman that was often characterized as “assault.” The mere accusation of sexual impropriety regularly aroused violent mobs and ended in lynching. There was no direct evidence that Mr. Clark committed the alleged offense, and many citizens, including the husband of the woman who reported being assaulted, expressed doubts that Mr. Clark was the perpetrator. Nevertheless, a large mob, which reportedly faced no resistance from police, broke into the jail and abducted Mr. Clark. The mob then paraded him along Lee and Mary streets as white Bristol residents cheered. By 1 pm, the mob had dragged Mr. Clark to a grove of trees a mile from town. There, the mob took a chain from a nearby wagon, tied it around his neck and hanged him to death from a chestnut tree, mutilating his body as he was suspended. No mob members were ever held accountable.