The anti-lynching movement was a civil rights movement in the United States that aimed to eradicate the practice of lynching. Lynching was used as a tool to repress African Americans.[1] The anti-lynching movement reached its height between the 1890s and 1930s. The movement was composed mainly of African Americans who tried to persuade politicians to put an end to the practice, but after the failure of this strategy, they pushed for anti-lynching legislation. African American women helped in the formation of the movement[2] and a large part of the movement was composed of women's organizations.[3]
The first anti-lynching movement was characterized by black convention meets, which were organized in the immediate aftermath of individual incidents. The movement gained wider national support in the 1890s. During this period, two organizations spearheaded the movement - the Afro-American League (AAL) and the National Equal Rights Council (NERC).[3]
Ida B. Wells was a significant figure in the anti-lynching movement. After the lynchings of her three friends, she condemned the lynchings in the newspapers Free Speech and Headlight, both owned by her. Because of her anti-lynching campaigning she received death threats from racist rioters.[3]
In 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was established. The formation of this organization was a significant event in the history of the anti-lynching movement. The NAACP formed a special committee in 1916 in order to push for anti-lynching legislation and to enlighten the public about lynching.[3]
According to Noralee Frankel, the anti-lynching movement had its origin in the freedom movements after the end of the American Civil War, and that it cannot be described only as a result of the reforms during the Progressive Era.[4]
References
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Before 1900 |
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1900–1940 |
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After 1940 |
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Multiple victims
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- Death of Joseph Smith (Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith) (1844)
- Marais des Cygnes, KS, massacre (1858)
- Great Hanging at Gainesville, TX (1862)
- New York City draft riots (1863)
- Detroit race riot (1863)
- ? Lachenais and four others (1863)
- Fort Pillow, TN, massacre (1864)
- Plummer Gang (1864)
- Memphis massacre (1866)
- Gallatin County, KY, race riot (1866)
- New Orleans massacre of 1866
- Reno Brothers Gang (1868)
- Camilla, GA, massacre (1868)
- Steve Long and two half-brothers (1868)
- Pulaski, TN, riot (1868)
- Samuel Bierfield and Lawrence Bowman (1868)
- Opelousas, LA, massacre (1868)
- Bear River City riot (1868)
- Chinese massacre of 1871
- Meridian, MS, race riot (1871)
- Colfax, LA, massacre (1873)
- Election riot of 1874 (AL)
- Juan, Antonio, and Marcelo Moya (1874)
- Benjamin and Mollie French (1876)
- Ellenton, SC, riot (1876)
- Hamburg, SC, massacre (1876)
- Thibodeax, LA, massacre (1878)
- Nevlin Porter and Johnson Spencer (1879)
- New Orleans 1891 lynchings (1891)
- Ruggles Brothers (CA) (1892)
- Thomas Moss, Henry Stewart, Calvin McDowell (TN) (1892)
- Porter and Spencer (MS) (1897)
- Phoenix, SC, election riot (1898)
- Wilmington, NC, insurrection (1898)
- Julia and Frazier Baker (1898)
- Pana, IL, riot (1899)
- Watkinsville lynching (1905)
- Atlanta race riot (1906)
- Kemper County, MS (1906)
- Walker family (1908)
- Springfield race riot of 1908
- Slocum, TX, massacre (1910)
- Laura and L.D. Nelson (1911)
- Harris County, GA, lynchings (1912)
- Forsyth County, GA (1912)
- Newberry, FL, lynchings (1916)
- East St. Louis, IL, riots (1917)
- Lynching rampage in Brooks County, GA (1918)
- Jenkins County, GA, riot (1919)
- Longview, TX, race riot (1919)
- Elaine, AR, race riot (1919)
- Omaha race riot of 1919
- Knoxville riot of 1919
- Red Summer (1919)
- Duluth, MN, lynchings (1920)
- Ocoee, FL, massacre (1920)
- Tulsa race massacre (1921)
- Perry, FL, race riot (1922)
- Rosewood, FL, massacre (1923)
- Jim and Mark Fox (1927)
- Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith (1930)
- Tate County, MS (1932)
- Thomas Harold Thurmond and John M. Holmes (1933)
- Roosevelt Townes and Robert McDaniels (1937)
- Beaumont, TX, Race Riot (1943)
- O'Day Short, wife, and two children (1945)
- Moore's Ford, GA, lynchings (1946)
- Harry and Harriette Moore (1952)
- Anniston, AL (1961)
- Freedom Summer Murders (James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner) (1964)
- Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore (1964)
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General |
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Anti-lynching movement |
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Defenders of lynching |
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Memory |
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Related articles |
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