“STRANGER FRUIT”: THE LYNCHING OF BALCK WOMEN THE CASES OF ROSA RICHARDSON AND MARIE SCOTT _________________________________________ A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School At the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirement for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________________________ by MARIA DELONGORIA Dr. Robert Weems, Jr., Dissertation Supervisor DECEMBER 2006 © Copyright by Maria DeLongoria 2006 All Rights Reserved The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled “STRANGER FRUIT”: THE LYNCHING OF BLACK WOMEN, THE CASES OF ROSA JEFFERSON AND MARIE SCOTT presented by Maria DeLongoria, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and herby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Professor Robert E. Weems, Jr. Professor Julius E. Thompson Professor John Bullion Professor LeeAnn Whites Professor Sw. Anand Prahlad Acknowledgments I think many people who complete this process feel as though they have the best dissertation committee. I am no different in that aspect except that my committee went above and beyond the call of duty digging themselves from under sixteen inches of snow, on a Saturday afternoon, and for that, I am eternally grateful. To my advisor, Robert E. Weems, Jr.: I can not begin to express my gratitude for your continuous support. My journey has been a long, and at times trying one, but you, with your quiet spirit, were always there to pick up right where we left off. Your commitment to your students is unsurpassed. I have learned a great deal from you during my tenure at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and I take with me the spirit of a scholar and a warrior. To my dissertation committee members: Julius E. Thompson, thank you for sharing your expertise on lynching with me for this project. It is all the better because of your input. Beyond the academic support, thank you for your continuous support through the Black Studies Program. It is a very special place for me at Mizzou. ii John Bullion, thank you for agreeing to join the committee with such short notice. Your reading of my project and the subsequent discussions has made it a better one. I also want to thank you for welcoming me so graciously into the History department so many years ago. It is funny what people remember, and just so that you know, having my son and me to your home when I first arrived left a wonderful impression with both of us. LeeAnn Whites, thank you for not only being a part of this project and providing a perspective that only you can, but also for your incredible insight in the many classes and discussions that I had with you. Sw. Anand Prahlad, when I first took your folklore class, I had no idea how important it would be to the understanding and completion of this dissertation. Thank you for an ‘outside’ perspective that in reality is more of an ‘inside’ one. I also had no idea how intrigued I would become with oral traditions and their influence on popular culture. Thank you for a future research agenda. Although, he was not a part of my dissertation committee, I can not omit Arvah Strickland from these notes. iii Dr. Strickland, I don’t know if you realize how important you are to me. I am so glad that I was lucky enough to be part of your last group of “children” at Mizzou. I learned so much as your teaching and research assistant as well as your student. Your gentle, yet firm and always supportive spirit warmed Black Studies as well as my heart. I had the privilege of beginning my graduate studies at Morgan State University under the tutelage of one of the foremost scholars of black women’s history, Roselyn Terborg-Penn. Dr. Penn, thank you for opening up a world of knowledge as well as awakening the desire to advance in this field. I have learned a great deal from you and still refer to you pencil written comments, on occasion. There were many people, who without their help, this project would not have developed as it did. In South Carolina, I am deeply indebted to those people who arranged interviews and to those who granted them: Senator John Matthews, Richard Reid, Virgil G. Bell, Jr., Lawton Brown, Earth Lee Guess, ‘Munch’ Hilliard, Narvis Hilliard, Susie Jefferson, T.H. Keitt, Mark Salazar, Evelyn Weathersbee, and James ‘Munch’ White. In Oklahoma, I must thank Shirley Benham, Elizabeth ‘Liz’ McMahan, and Johnnie P. Stevenson, iv for not only agreeing to speak with me but for doing so on a ‘walk-in’ basis. I cannot leave out the unwavering and incredible support that I have received from my family at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York. Thank you to President Edison O. Jackson, Dominic Nwaske, Evelyn Castro, Mwalimu Shujaa, Patricia Canson, Amir Al-Islam, Saundra Lewis, Philip Oguagha, Phoenix Maat and an extra special thank you to Delridge Hunter. One of the key elements of completing this journey was my support network. Never did I imagine that by coming to Mizzou I would meet four extremely powerful women. I truly honor the friendship and sisterhood that grew between Sharon L. Bethea, Sharon Squires, Deanna Reese, Deborah Hogue and me. My MEC sister Natasha Gordon, who I am listing apart from my other MEC family, holds her own spot in my heart. “We did it girls!” Lastly, but by no means any less important, I owe so much to my family. My sons Malcolm and Haris have had more than their share of fast food dinners, time with Mama, and sleepovers at Uncle Ronnie’s and Uncle Danny’s, so that I could finish this project. I thank them for understanding and for being the special young men that they are. I can v not begin to thank my mother, Pam DeLongoria who I think wanted this as much, if not more than I did, for EVERYTHING. Some people do not get one awesome support person let alone two. My ‘Mom C’, Joan Carrott has picked up the pieces (and the kids) whenever I needed. Thank you is not enough. To my uncle, Gerard, for already knowing what I just proved. Hey Ronnie, Danny, Martha, Dougie, Alona, Doug, Sean, Dilcia, Simone, and Ron, “Where the party at?” vi “STRANGER FRUIT”: THE LYNCHING OF BLACK WOMEN, THE CASES OF ROSA JEFFERSON AND MARIE SCOTT Maria DeLongoria Dr. Robert E. Weems Jr., Dissertation Supervisor ABSTRACT This dissertation is a study focused on the sexual and racial dynamics that fostered an environment that allowed for, and even condoned the lynching of black women. By examining variables that affected black women’s exclusive position in American society, it adds a new perspective to the rape/lynch theory. By exploring lynching through the eyes and experiences of black female lynching victims, the rape and lynching victim becomes one in the same. Organized in five chapters, Chapter One is an analysis of commonly held images and perceptions of black women that helped create an environment in which black women were not only acceptable targets of mob violence but also where their lynching was condoned. Chapter Two examines the history of sexual and physical abuse that black women experienced before and after Emancipation in the name of southern honor. Chapters Three and Four build on the discussion of the previous chapters with the investigations of the lynchings of Rosa Richardson and Marie Scott. In addition to analyzing the lynchings of the two women, Chapter Five focuses on how these lynchings were remembered by individuals and community. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments..........................................ii Abstract................................................vii Introduction..............................................1 Chapter One She’s No Lady; She’s A Nigger............................25 Chapter Two Black Women’s Bodies: Symbols of Honor and Violence......58 Chapter Three Let’s String Her Up......................................76 Chapter Four One of the Most Dastardly Crimes Ever...................110 Chapter Five Forget Me Not...........................................142 Appendix A – Recorded Cases of Black Female Lynching Victims.....160 B – Mammy and Golliwog..................................165 C - Derogatory Jokes....................................167 D – Map of South Carolina...............................169 E – Elloree Jail........................................170 F – Map of Oklahoma.....................................172 G – Lynching Site.......................................173 Bibliography............................................174 Vita....................................................196 viii Introduction “Society must be educated to see black women as distinct historical beings.”1 Darlene Clark Hine The image of a black woman’s body swinging from a tree branch or telegraph pole is not the usual vision evoked with hearing the term “lynching.” The more traditional representation of a lynching victim is that of a charred black male figure. This is the case even though to date, approximately 159-recorded cases of black female lynching victims have been uncovered.2 (See chart in Appendix A) Although this figure is far lower than the figure for men, it is likely to increase as further studies are done. The lower statistics, however, do not categorize the lynchings of black women as anomalies. In fact, between 1886 and 1957, fifteen states in the South and West documented 1 As quoted in Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Daughters of Sorrow: Attitudes Toward Black Women, 1880-1920, vol. 11, Black Woman in United States History (Brooklyn, New York: Carlson Publishing, 1990), 1. 2 This figure is based on documented cases. It does not include black women who were killed in race riots, mass murders, by an individual person, or who just “disappeared” at the hands of many. When referring to black women who were victims of lynch mobs, the term ‘women’ represents black female youth as well as adult women as some of the victims were in their teens and one was approximately two years old.