African-American veterans lynched after World War I


When they returned home from World War I, African-American veterans faced heavy discrimination. This article focuses on those African American veterans who were lynched after World War I.

Background

World War I

World War I ended with the signing of the Armistice of November 11, 1918. Though the fighting stopped, the war's potential to resume still existed and peace was only reached when representatives of Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The United States entered the war after it had been raging for years. When it did send men to the fronts of Europe, the United States Armed Forces remained segregated, with all-black and all-white units. Despite the segregation, many African Americans still volunteered to join the Allied war effort. By the time of the armistice with Germany, more than 350,000 African Americans had joined the military to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front.

Reaction to returning veterans

During a homecoming celebration for African-American veterans of World War I in Norfolk, Virginia a race riot broke out on July 21, 1919. At least two people were killed and six people were shot. City officials had to call in the Marines and Navy personnel to restore order.
On August 16, 1917, Senator James K. Vardaman of Mississippi spoke of his fear of black veterans returning to the South, as he viewed that it would "inevitably lead to disaster." To the American South, the use of black soldiers in the military was a threat, not a virtue. "Impress the negro with the fact that he is defending the flag, inflate his untutored soul with military airs, teach him that it is his duty to keep the emblem of the Nation flying triumphantly in the air," and, the senator cautioned, "it is but a short step to the conclusion that his political rights must be respected."
Often violence broke out between serving members of the military. In both the Bisbee Riot and the New London riots of 1919 active African-American service members were attacked by white mobs or white military units.
Many black soldiers in the years after the war were threatened with violence if they were caught wearing their uniform. Many others were even physically attacked, sometimes barely escaping with their lives. During an April 5, 1919, market day in Sylvester, Georgia, black veteran Daniel Mack was walking through a busy street and brushed against a white man. The white man was offended that Mack did not show the proper amount of respect and the two got in a scuffle; police came on the scene and promptly arrested Mack for assault. He was sentenced to 30 days in prison. A few days into his sentence, on April 14, a white mob broke into the prison, took him out into the wilderness and lynched Mack; he survived by playing dead. No arrests were ever made. Elisha Harper, 25 years old, was the son of the Rev. T. F. Harper, a respectable and "well-behaved preacher" living in Helena. He fought in the army during World War I and just returned from Europe. On July 24, 1919, while walking the streets of Newberry, South Carolina, he allegedly insulted a 14-year-old girl, who promptly reported him to the authorities. Harper was arrested and thrown in jail. Soon a white mob had gathered and would have lynched Harper if it was not for the local Sheriff who hid him away.

Lynched African-American veterans

The following is an incomplete list of African Americans who had served in the military during WWI and were killed by white mobs with no trials for alleged crimes.
NameCityCounty or parishStateDateAccusationLynchingRef
UnknownPine BluffJeffersonArkansasInsult of white woman – refused to move off a sidewalk for a white womanTied to a tree with tire chains, and shot as many as 50 times
Tyler StationKentuckyAlleged robberyMasked men stormed the jail, smashed the locks with a sledgehammer, and hanged him from a tree
Black vet and a black womanPickensHolmes CountyMississippiInsult of white woman – black woman wrote an "improper note" to a young white woman
Train to Dozier ParkAlabamaAsking for change from a conductorShot three times in the head
LouiseHumphreys CountyMississippiInsult of white woman – alleged indecent proposal to a white womanHanged Robert Truett, a veteran who was 18 years old
LincolnWashingtonArkansasInsult of white woman – moved too slowly out of white woman's wayChained to a tree, shot till dead
ClarksdaleCoahomaMississippiSuspected of having a relationship with a white womanHanged from the bridge across the Sunflower River
MontgomeryMontgomeryAlabamaAlleged assault of a white womanShot by a mob
MontgomeryMontgomeryAlabamaAlleged assault of a white womanShot by a mob
El DoradoUnionArkansasAlleged murder100 people gathered to burn Mr. Livingston alive
PaceSanta Rosa CountyFloridaAlleged assault of a white womanChained to a stake, burnt alive his skull was split with a hatchet and pieces given to onlookers as souvenirs
BogalusaWashington ParishLouisianaAlleged attempted assault of a white womanMob dragged his body behind a car killing him before burning his corpse in a bonfire
Franklin CountyNorth CarolinaAllegedly shot R. M. Brown, the white owner of a movie theater in FranklintonRope tied around neck, dragged for behind an automobile, then hanged from a pine sapling
Paris, TexasLamar CountyTexasAlleged shootout that resulted in two deathsHerman and is little brother, Ervie, tied to a stake and burnt alive
Blakely, GeorgiaEarly CountyGeorgiaRefusal to remove military uniformBeaten to death in uniform by a mob

Aftermath

These lynchings were among several incidents of civil unrest that are now known as the American Red Summer of 1919. Attacks on black communities and white oppression spread to more than three dozen cities and counties. In most cases, white mobs attacked African American neighborhoods. In some cases, black community groups resisted the attacks, especially in Chicago and Washington, D.C. Most deaths occurred in rural areas during events like the Elaine massacre in Arkansas, where an estimated 100 to 240 blacks and 5 whites were killed. Other major events of Red Summer were the Chicago race riot and Washington D.C. race riot, which caused 38 and 39 deaths, respectively. Both riots had many more non-fatal injuries and extensive property damage reaching up into the millions of dollars.