'A Man Was Lynched Yesterday'

The NAACP might be better known for its fight against segregation, notably the Brown v Board of Education victory in the Supreme Court in 1954. Long before that, its focus was on stopping lynchings across America. They conducted an anti-lynching campaign from 1909 thru 1939. Before Thurgood Marshall, there was Ida B. Wells, who helped found the NAACP Women’s Group (and the NAACP though given no credit). Ida was also active in the Women’s Suffrage movement and berated her white counterparts for turning a blind eye to lynchings.

On May 15, 1916, Jesse Washington was lynched in Waco, TX, for having murdered and allegedly raping a fifty-three-year-old white woman. A later independent investigation by the NAACP concluded that Washington likely did kill Fryer. Still, there was no evidence of rape, and none was ever presented at his trial or mentioned by the examining doctor. After a guilty verdict, Washington was dragged out of the courtroom by a mob. People telephoned friends and neighbors to come to see the lynching (not likely the precise words they used). A professional photographer arrived to record the activities. The mob swelled to an estimated 10,000–15,000 people as Jesse was tortured and burned. Parts of his body, including teeth and genitals, were taken as souvenirs.

The NAACP stepped up its fight against lynchings, aided by photographs of Washington published across the world. The NAACP raised additional funds to combat lynching after Jesse Washington was murdered. A portion of those funds was used to purchase the flag, which was hung outside their headquarters at 69 Fifth Ave, New York City. The flag was put out as needed until 1938, when the NAACP’s landlord threatened not to renew their lease if they persisted. The organization moved its national headquarters to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1986.

There is no record of how many times the “Man Was Lynched” flew over the eighteen years it was used. It is known that it was used for lynchings in the state of Georgia 73 times. After its final use, it was sent to the Library of Congress. A variation by artist Dread Scott was, “A Man Was Killed By Police Today.” It was created following the shooting in the back by the police of Walter Scott in 2015. It featured the same white lettering on a black background. Unlike the killers of Jesse Washington, police officer Michael Thomas Slager was prosecuted and went to jail. A bystander video conflicted with the police report that described a struggle over a taser that never occurred. I guess that’s progress?

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This post was previously published on Aninjusticemag.com.

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