Lynching Cases - Texas, 1926-1946
Scope and Contents
Named lynching victims are Tom Payne (Willis, 1927), Buddy Evans (Center, 1928), Cleave Williams (Calvert, 1929), Bill Roam (Bryan, 1930), Isaiah Edwards (Conroe, 1931), Lon Griggs (Kirbyville, 1934), Bob White (Conroe, 1941), Mott Flournoy (no place listed, 1941), Howard Wilpitz (Brookshire, 1942), James Rogers (Branham, 1944), Richard F. Gordon and Alonza Brooks (Marshall, 1946). Victims of attempted lynchings are Rainey Williams (Beaumont, 1930), Frank Ellis (Texarkana, 1938).
Dates
- Creation: 1926-1946
Document Types
Clippings
Arrangement
Arrangement is geographical; when multiple items referring to a single individual exist, a separate folder has been created with their name and the location in the folder title.
Processing Information
Lynching files have been processed using detailed processing procedures. All the information in the finding aid has been verified against folder content, dates and document types have been added, and more detailed arrangement and description work has been performed.
In files on lynching cases, names of victims are listed in the scope and content note for that folder, along with the locality and year of the incident. Unnamed victims are listed with location and date, and victims of attempted lynchings are also listed when named. When many documents are found for a specific victim, they are arranged in a separate folder with the victim's name in the folder title. Content warnings have been added to folder records where photographs of lynching victims are filed, or clippings with particularly graphic headlines, and such items are encapsulated within the main folders to allow researchers to choose whether or not to engage with this content.
The lynching legislation files appear to have been originally compiled around 1941, when correspondence is found between an AFRO librarian and a Congressional Research Service librarian. A 1939 report created by the Congressional Research Service is found, which may serve as an index to the content of these files.
Repository Details
Part of the AFRO American Newspapers Archives Repository