Friday, December 14, 2018

Flashback Friday

Today's edition of Flashback Friday will continue the look at Mississippi lynchings that began a week ago.  The Flashback Friday posts usually show stories, ads, and videos, and other items of nostalgia from Jackson's past.  However, Flashback Friday is delving into the darker side of Mississippi's past. JJ posted all of the articles reporting lynchings from the 1890's archives of the Clarion Ledger.  Posted below are the articles from 1900-1909. 

Needless to say, this stuff is not for the faint of heart.  It is one thing to read about lynchings described in today's language. Statistics are often cited but they tend to numb the brain and all too often remain in the abstract.  It is altogether different to read about lynchings as they were reported at the time. Lynchings were reported with nary an editorial comment made against such savagery.  As stated last week, these posts don't do justice to the subject and apologies are made to those who have made a life's work out of fighting such injustice.  It is just a humble attempt to show the average reader how things were a long time ago.

The times began to change with regards to lynchings at the turn of the century.  Governor Andrew Longino assumed office and began a crusade against lynchings in 1900 as he deplored mob rule.  He personally tried to stop several lynchings.  Sometimes he succeeded while other times he failed despite his best efforts.  The editorial pages opposed the Governor.    Lynchings continued for several more decades but this is the first report of official opposition by state leadership. First up are the articles about lynchings.



1900
1901

1901
1900

1902
1902
1904

1907
1906

1908

1908

1909

However, leaders started to speak out against lynchings and took steps to stop it.  Governor Longino was having none of the lynching business and made several trips to personally stop lynchings that were taking place.   Naturally, this being Mississippi, the enlightened Governor was considered to be a Yankee lover among other things in some quarters of white society as well as the press.

1900

1900
1900
1904
The Governor's actions made a difference because the newspaper reported that the number of lynchings decreased during his regime.


However, there is a triple lynching he was unable to stop, try as he did.  A white couple was brutally murdered in Carrollton.



A lynching took place in response to the murders.  The Governor hurried to Carrollton to stop the triple lynching but was too late.   Compare his noble actions to the thinly-disguised opinion presented by the newspaper in the article. 




There were reports of law enforcement stopping lynchings. Keep in mind that most of these lynchings were in rural areas of the state. Literally a handful of law enforcement officers were facing a mob of sometimes several hundred people - who were usually armed. There were no 20-round Glocks, M-4's with 30 round magazines, or tear gas available to the police. They were taking on a mob armed with a revolvers and shotguns, not the best weapons for crowd control.  Law enforcement tried to stop the mob in Carrollton but were unable to do so.  However, other efforts to stop a lynching were at times successful. 



17 comments:

Franklin said...

Well that’s some history worth reflecting upon! Good job KF!

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why they felt the need to lynch when the justice system was racist anyway--it's not like black defendants were being acquitted left and right. But lynching was defended as if the very survival of the South depended on it. I guess the point was to show black people that whites could kill them at any time and get away with it.

Anonymous said...

Say what you will about it, there were a lot less crimes in that period of history.
Not saying that it was right, but it was effective. Fear of punishment is a very strong deterrent to crime. It is a shame that criminals, (regardless of race) no longer fear punishment. A death sentence by the court equates to at least 20 more years of life.

Anonymous said...

Hey we made it through two comments before getting to a defense of lynchings!

1) there were not, as best we can tell, “a lot fewer crimes.”

2) the history of lynchings shows that many of these “crimes” were not crimes at all, or at least not the crimes described. A white woman having a secret affair with a black man had two options if discovered: enduring disgrace, or alleging rape. Some of the other scenarios described here are obviously implausible ... but the blacks having been killed, who was to say otherwise?

Anonymous said...

I hope the next flashback is about the holidays of Mississippi past. Or, a flashback to two of the biggest games in memorial stadium- Notre Dame’s defeat at the hands of the Mississippi sun and rebels or the incredible matchup of Totten/ rice satellite / world Ms valley vs Alcorn.

Anonymous said...

How sad. Is there some possible benefit to this state to continue opening old, horrendous wounds and wallowing in them? It would seem to me there would come a time we could start to heal and move on. I guess that process might jeopardize our standing as #50 in the country, since racial discord is such a big business here.

Anonymous said...

9:41....Amen and amen....I ask myself that everytime I see that stupid state flag flapping.

Anonymous said...

9:41 Which aspect of history would you like to see buried? You live in a state in which a large percentage of people seem to think that honoring symbols of the confederacy is beneficial. It's history they say. Yet, uncover the actual documentation of the murderous climate which gave rise to lynchings and you suddenly want to "heal the wounds of the past" and move on. You want history when it makes you feel good or makes "them" look bad but not the truth. Until the truth is honored above all, the wounds remain open. Get used to it.

Anonymous said...

9:41–Yes

"The value of history is, indeed, not scientific but moral: by liberalizing the mind, by deepening the sympathies, by fortifying the will, it enables us to control, not society, but ourselves -- a much more important thing; it prepares us to live more humanely in the present and to meet rather than to foretell the future."
Carl Becker

Anonymous said...

Thanks KF. When I was in high school many years ago we had a required class called Mississippi history. It was almost all bullshit. Half the state and more than half it's history did not exist. Lynchings were summarized into "revolts against carpetbaggers and scallawags" from the north. Blatant racism could be termed "populism" or some other bull. The articles which you have produced, although written by the racists to protect perpetrators, give better insight into the actual mindset that ruled Mississippi than any text books whitewashing the truth. I only hope that "history" is better taught.

Anonymous said...

Anony 9:41 said “How sad. Is there some possible benefit to this state to continue opening old, horrendous wounds and wallowing in them?”


9;41, the continuation of opening old, horrendous wounds and wallowing in them benefits:

A.) Leftists, by taking the spotlight off of (at least for some within a dumbed down electorate) the horrendous crimes being committed TODAY within failed leftist run cities; and of course,

B.) So-called journalists intent on MAKING MONEY by keeping us divided and TUNED IN via stirring up old shit.

The 1955 Emmett Till murder happened when Dwight D. Eisenhower was President and before the vast majority of American were born.

Mississippi’s 581 lynching’s from 1882 to 1968 happened over an 86 year period with the last being 50 YEARS AGO; again, before the vast majority of American were born.

How many years must one go back to find 581 murders in the Leftist run small City of Jackson Mississippi alone? HINT, it certainly isn’t even close to 86 YEARS!

Anonymous said...

7:43–Its true that leftists and journalists benefit from history. It’s also true that history is past—even more than 50 and 86 years ago

But it Is further true that YOU would benefit from this history. You see, lynchings weren’t just murder. And comments like yours and 6:35 illustrate the current relevance of this history.

Anonymous said...

@ 8:37AM

The current murder and crime rates in the City of Jackson speak for themselves.

Anonymous said...

Throughout my childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, the good people of Mississippi engaged in a continuous glorification of the ole south and the "Lost Cause'. Everything was Yankee and Rebel, blue and gray, and conservative vs liberal communists. It was non-stop. There could be no opposition no matter how overdone. Dixie-this and Rebel-that. It was our history our heritage. How glorious. Now when someone presents a little truth, actual facts about Mississippi's past which was generally hidden under a cloak of racist hubris for decades, we holler ENOUGH! We are sick and tired of history. Let's move on. I've got news for you. Mississippi has always moved on. The direction is the problem.

Anonymous said...

Cry me a river!

Everybody loves being a victim.

Especially the overabundance of snowflakes within today’s society.

Even the ones not alive a half a century ago plus.

Yea it is history.

ANCIENT HISTORY!

Anonymous said...

11:03 hits it.

When we quit glorifying Treason in Defense of Slavery, THEN maybe y’all can start complaining about “ancient history.”

Anonymous said...

1:00 — Dang boy. The only whiny snowflake is you.



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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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