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Resisting Lynching: Black Grassroots Responses to Lynching in the Mississippi and Arkansas Deltas, 1882–1938

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Resisting Lynching: Black Grassroots Responses to Lynching in the Mississippi and Arkansas Deltas, 1882–1938 © 2009 Karlos Hill RESISTING LYNCHING: BLACK GRASSROOTS RESPONSES TO LYNCHING IN THE MISSISSIPPI AND ARKANSAS DELTAS, 1882–1938 BY KARLOS HILL DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Sundiata Cha-Jua, Chair and Director of Research Professor James Barrett Professor David Roediger Associate Professor Christopher Benson ABSTRACT “Resisting Lynching: Black Grassroots Responses to Lynching in the Mississippi and Arkansas Deltas, 1882–1938” explores the social and cultural history of the black experience of lynching. It highlights the pervasiveness of lynch mob violence, the failure of local, state, and federal governments to prevent lynching and how these factors combined to shape the development of black grassroots protest in the Delta region. Given this background, this dissertation traces how Delta blacks responded to the crisis of white lynch mob violence in a variety of contexts. Specifically, it examines the rise and decline of black lynch mobs, black violent confrontations with white mobs as well as lynching’s impact on black popular culture and historical memory. My main contention is that these disparate but related responses represent a grassroots tradition of black resistance to white lynch mob violence. This dissertation counters histories of lynching that have tended to view black lynch victims and black communities as primarily passive victims of white mob violence. It moves beyond histories of black anti-lynching protest that have primarily focused on prominent black spokespersons and national organizations that lobbied for state and federal anti-lynching legislation. In contrast, it demonstrates that Delta blacks routinely organized resistance to lynching through social networks and vigorously contested white rationales for mob violence. In highlighting black grassroots resistance, I argue that histories of lynching are not necessarily stories of black victimization and disempowerment. Rather, the history of lynching provides a fertile ground upon which to understand ii black self activity and the social and political dynamics that produce it. Within this context, “Resisting Lynching” aims to contribute to a new and emerging trend within lynching scholarship that seeks to “rehumanize” black lynch victims by situating the black response as the focal point of lynching narratives. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My dissertation would not have been possible without the expertise and guidance of Sundiata Cha-Jua, James Barrett, David Roediger, and Christopher Benson. Throughout the process, they read multiple chapter drafts and provided critical feedback. Their critiques sharpened my historical aptitude and writing acumen. As such, they enabled me to develop a dissertation that I am very proud of. In addition, they wrote recommendation letters on my behalf which undoubtedly helped me earn an assistant professorship at Texas Tech University. I will always be deeply grateful to them for nurturing me intellectually and inspiring me to achieve more than what I thought was possible. Writing a dissertation can be an immensely isolating experience. From start to finish, Maurice Hobson helped me clarify ideas during many late night phone conversations. When I ran out of ideas for dissertation chapters, he unselfishly helped me brainstorm new avenues of primary source research. More importantly, during moments of anxiety and insecurity, he always provided warm encouragement and friendship. In effect, his thoughtfulness and faithful friendship helped me endure what might have otherwise been an alienating experience. During the seven years it took me to complete my PhD, I relied on the financial support of several individuals and institutions. Sundiata Cha-Jua and David Roediger provided me with research assistantships during my first three years of graduate school. Their financial generosity allowed me more time to focus on course work and qualifying exams. During my final two years, St. Olaf iv and Luther College each provided me a generous one-year dissertation fellowship as well as research/professional development monies. These funds allowed me to purchase books, present papers at conferences, and conduct research. While at St. Olaf College, Michael Fitzgerald helped me to write the first chapter of my dissertation. During frequent chats over coffee, he renewed my passion for history. During my stint at Luther College, I made many friends. In particular, Martin Klammer, Derek and Kathleen Sweet, Novian and Katherine Whitsitt, Lawrence Williams, Guy Nave, Lori Stanley, Sheila Radford-Hill, and William Craft graciously welcomed me into their lives. Unbeknownst to them, they provided my wife and I much needed support and friendship. For that, we shall be forever grateful. My family and friends provided a much needed support structure. My parents Roy and Easter Hill pushed me to do my best in school before I ever dreamed of pursuing a PhD in history. Their foresight and belief in me gave me confidence to set goals and the discipline to attain them. Richard, Jamie, Drew, and Andrea Snyder provided much needed encouragement and love throughout this process. In so many ways, their support enlivened and propelled me toward completion. I am blessed to have Kahlilah and Kaylord Hill as siblings. They have encouraged me in all my endeavors and inspired me to be the best I can possibly be. No one could ask for better friends than Gerald and Kristy Wilson. Without the many dinner parties, movies, and golf outings that we shared, graduate school would have been an immensely dull experience. v Finally, my loving wife Jennie Hill deserves special praise. Throughout my graduate career, she has been an unsung hero. Her contributions to my dissertation are too numerous to name. For instance, she readily edited every minor and major seminar paper I wrote; she carefully listened to me when I complained about the trials and tribulations of graduate school; and she remained supportive when my desire to complete my dissertation waivered. Through it all, she modeled what it means to be a caring and supportive spouse and someday I hope I can do the same for her. To everyone who contributed to the completion of my dissertation, I sincerely thank you. Champaign, Illinois Karlos K. Hill September 2009 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………..1 CHAPTER 2: REDEMPTION IN THE DELTA……………………………………...24 CHAPTER 3: LYNCHING AFTER RACE………………………………………….. 53 CHAPTER 4: RESISTING LYNCHING……………………………………………...91 CHATPER 5: NARRATIVES OF RESISTANCE………………………………….126 CHAPTER 6: CONTESTED MEMORIES…………………………………………183 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION……………………………………………………….215 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………...219 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION A Brief History of Lynching in America The Scope of Lynching Mark Twain, the prolific writer and observer of American life and culture, once sarcastically noted that America had become the “United States of Lyncherdom.”1 Between 1882 and 1930, approximately 4,760 men, women, and children fell prey to lynch mobs. No individual or group was entirely safe from lynching. White Americans, Mexicans, Chinese, Italians, and other racial-ethnic groups were all victims of lynching.2 Lynchings were extralegal murders carried out by a group of vigilantes and functioned to summarily execute individuals often accused of heinous crimes. While lynching served to punish particular criminals and crimes, it also functioned as a form of mass communication in which the objective was to enforce social conformity with respect to racial hierarchy, social status, and gender norms. Lynching constituted state- and community-sanctioned violence for which federal, state, and local governments and courts rarely prosecuted the individuals involved and even those prosecutions seldom resulted in fines or prison sentences. Lynch mobs murdered with impunity because extralegal violence fit within popular conceptions of social control.3 1 Sandra Gunning, Race, Rape, and Lynching: The Red Record of American Literature (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), 52; W. F. Brundage, Lynching in the New South: Georgia and Virginia, 1880–1940 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993), 1. 2 Jacqueline Hall, Revolt Against Chivalry: Jesse Ames and the Women’s Campaign Against Lynching (New York: Columbia University Press, 1979), 134–135. 3 Brundage, Lynching in the New South, 2–8. 1 Lynching in the United States has a long and tragic history. Lynch mobs expeditiously executed alleged criminals and perceived social deviants during the colonial period through the Civil Rights era. While present throughout all periods of US history, lynching occurred sporadically prior to the American Civil War. In post-Civil War America, lynching increased dramatically, so that by the end of the nineteenth century, it had engulfed virtually every region in the nation. Lynching was indeed a national crime, but it was also a Southern hysteria that targeted African Americans, who represented approximately seventy percent of all lynch victims. Lynching was so commonplace in the US South that ten Southern states lynched more individuals than all other states and regions combined. During the peak of Southern lynching (1882–1930), approximately 2,800 Southerners perished as a result of lynch mobs, accounting for nearly sixty percent of all lynching victims in the United
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