The Lynching of Cleo Wright

University of Kentucky UKnowledge United States History History 1998 The Lynching of Cleo Wright Dominic J. Capeci Jr. Missouri State University Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, this book is freely available to current faculty, students, and staff at the University of Kentucky. Find other University of Kentucky Books at uknowledge.uky.edu/upk. For more information, please contact UKnowledge at [email protected]. Recommended Citation Capeci, Dominic J. Jr., "The Lynching of Cleo Wright" (1998). United States History. 95. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_united_states_history/95 The Lynching of Cleo Wright The Lynching of Cleo Wright DOMINIC J. CAPECI JR. THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Copyright © 1998 by The University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine College, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Club Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 02 01 00 99 98 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Capeci, Dominic J. The lynching of Cleo Wright / Dominic J. Capeci, Jr. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8131-2048-9 (acid-free paper) 1. Wright, Cleo, d. 1942. 2. Afro-Americans—Civil rights— Missouri—Sikeston—History—20th century. 3. Lynching—Missouri —Sikeston—History—20th century. 4. Sikeston (Mo.)—Race relations. 5. United States—Race relations. I. Title. F474.S5C36 1998 305.896'077897—dc21 98-5635 Per i miei maestri Reno Zuccaro John J. Juliano Albert Lopes Van L. Perkins Clarence E. Barnes Donald C. Marsh Edgar A. Albin Contents List of Maps and Illustrations viii Preface ix Acknowledgments xi 1 Sikeston 1 2 Bloodshed 13 3 Law and Order 38 4 Autopsy 67 5 Burial 109 6 TheBlantons 139 7 From Missouri 166 8 Postmortem 187 Appendix 194 Notes 202 Selected Bibliography 253 Index 264 Maps and Illustrations Maps Sikeston, Missouri 2 Missouri Lynchings by County, 1889-1942 176 Illustrations Hess Perrigan and Jesse Whittley in 1942 17 City Hall, Sikeston, Missouri 20 Lynching spectators view the charred body of Cleo Wright 23 Cleo Wright, about 1937 69 Alonzo and Albert Watson, with two of their children 80 Jimmy, J. Dillard, and Grace Sturgeon 91 Laverne Sturgeon 93 Prison photos of Cleo Wright in 1940 106 Sgt. Melvin Dace examines the knife used in the assault 124 C.L. Blanton, the "Pole Cat," in his newspaper office 141 David E. Blanton 144 Preface Beginning with James R. McGovern's case study of Claude Neal in Anatomy of a Lynching (1982) and running through Stewart E. Tolnay and E.M. Beck's comparative analysis often southern states in A Festival of Violence (1995), the recent interest in lynch law has provided valuable insights that reach far beyond the violence to tell much about black-white relations in changing historical eras.1 The lynching of Cleo Wright extends this inquiry to Mis- souri, a state possessing neither completely northern or southern nor even distinctively border characteristics, but whose people and history have influenced important national issues. First and foremost, this is the story of Cleo Wright, his victim Grace Stur- geon, and their respective communities in the city of Sikeston. Wright was not simply a socially pathological black youth and Sturgeon an isolated, help- less white woman; rather, his criminal act and her heroic response sprang from a past and a culture that explain much about all lynchings in the most basic of human terms. So do the actions of the lynchers who took Wright's life and the officials who failed to save it. Together, their acts reflect a con- temporary society grown to expect senseless bloodshed of its own human- ity and that of its forebears. Moreover, Wright's killing influenced local, state, and national history as have very few lynchings. It revealed the disruption of transition from tra- ditional to modern society in an urban setting marked by several regional and, more recently, southern influences. It happened in a state relatively unknown for racial violence yet one whose lynching record both paralleled and broke with patterns of the South, most notably in urban lynchings. It occurred at a time of national crisis that required unprecedented federal in- tervention, reinforced the reduction of extralegal public executions of blacks, and revised legal strategies the better to protect later generations. Presented primarily as a case study, this interpretation also compares Wright's death with other lynchings in Missouri and throughout the South. In the process, it builds on the spate of recent studies, particularly those of Michael J. Pfeifer, W. Fitzhugh Brundage, and Tolnay and Beck.2 It reinforces x Preface many of their findings, posits some variations, and advances a few theses. It analyzes the state's eighty-five lynchings from 1889 to 1942, aware of the difficulty in accurately identifying every such ritualized murder.3 It provides an in-depth study of Wright's killing and suggests a direction for more com- prehensive work on similar deaths throughout the state. Much more may be learned from these about race relations and racial violence at a time when society is becoming more pluralistic and, some would argue, violence-prone. An understanding of one death in one critical era can provide insights for citizens struggling to enter a new age of demographic change, scarce resources, and intergroup conflict. In that lesson lies the enduring significance of Wright's life—and that of every other lynch victim. Acknowledgments This study greatly expands my article "The Lynching of Cleo Wright: Fed- eral Protection of Constitutional Rights during World War II," Journal of American History 72 (March 1986): 859-87, which comprises parts of chap- ters 3 and 8; the material is reused courtesy of the Organization of Ameri- can Historians. Beyond that legal interpretation, which remains as originally written, recent secondary literature, additional archival material, and espe- cially nearly one hundred interviews have enhanced and revised other as- pects of the story. Whether they were speaking on or off the record, as noted in the bibliography, the courage of those who spoke is most appreciated. And because no one has been indicted, much less found guilty for having killed Wright, fictitious names have been given to those believed most responsible for his death. Much of this information could not have been gathered without the assistance of a handful of individuals. In Sikeston, the late Walter Griffen of Sunset Addition; the Reverend Tom Geers, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church; and Michael L. Jensen, publisher of the Standard-Democrat, made many of the interviews possible. The Reverend Geers and Mr. Jensen also read the manuscript and provided thoughtful suggestions. Their encouragement and generosity during a decade of visits to Sikeston were invaluable, as were the microfilm editions of local newspapers, the photographs of the period, and the tours of the historic place provided by Mr. Jensen. In a very real sense, this book belongs to Walter, Tom, and perhaps most personally as a native son of Sikeston, Mike. I am most grateful for their unending help and most thankful for their heartfelt friendship. The most important protagonists in this story could not have been un- derstood without the unqualified support of Grace Sturgeon of Sikeston, the woman slashed by Wright, and Linetta Watson Koonce of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wright's sister. They recounted what had happened from very different yet equally significant perspectives, while also opening the way for conversations with others and—in the case of Mrs. Koonce—permitting access to the records and supplying photographs of family members. Simi- xii Acknowledgments larly, David E. Blanton of Sikeston provided several interviews revealing a third, legal perspective on the tragedy. Likewise I thank former officials of Sikeston and Scott County: City Clerk Carroll Couch, County Sheriff Bill Ferrell, and County Court Clerk Lynn Ingram. And, at different stages of the research, Arthur Bruce, Don Culbertson, Angela Longstreet, and Tim Jaynes of Sikeston provided wel- come assistance. Several other residents made available historical materials and are acknowledged in the notes. I owe as much to officials and staffs of the Regional History and Uni- versity Archives, Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Western Historical Manuscript Collection and State Historical Society of Missouri Manuscripts, Columbia; Missouri National Guard, Sikeston Armory; Missouri State Historical Soci- ety, St. Louis; Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Board of Probation and Parole, and Missouri Department of Corrections and Human Resources, Jefferson City; Michigan Department of Corrections, Lansing, Michigan; Jefferson County Courthouse, Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Arkansas Department of Health, Little Rock, and Arkansas Department of Correction, Pine Bluff; University Archives, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Justice Department, Library of Congress, and National Ar- chives and Records Service, all in Washington, D.C. A National Endowment for the Humanities Travel Grant (1988) and a Southwest Missouri State University Summer Fellowship (1990) financed the visits to some of these depositories. My research was also advanced by others. Former State Representative Douglas Harpool and U.S. Congressman Gene Taylor assisted in the release of Cleo Wright's prison records and the search for his military records. Patrick J. Huber of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and David Dickey of Scott City, Missouri, provided copies of their respective work on the James T.

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