North Star - Duluth Lynchings: Presence of the Past

In June of 1920, six black circus workers were wrongly accused of raping a white Duluth woman. Rumors of the rape spread through Duluth like wildfire, and a mob of angry whites formed. The mob abducted three of the suspects, beat them and paraded them through town. The terrifying rampage ended at a lamppost in the middle of downtown Duluth. With thousands clamoring to watch, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie were hanged.

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[Fretdemonxxx]

I'm from Duluth, born and raised. Yes, for people that don't know, Duluth has an African American community. Of course, I'm not proud of what happened to these men, but I am very happy that the memorial has not been tampered with by anyone to this date. I've never even seen a piece of trash at the memorial.

Love everyone. People are people, black or white.

[YOUNGGIZZLE2443]

It sound like every body on here is trying to bash my race and i will die befor I let that Shit happen I'm proud to be black and I'm proud of all my leaders and to you slow fucks USA ain't yours this Shit belongs to the Native Americans since you wanna talk history

[YOUNGGIZZLE2443]

96Z24 I'm from Duluth to and for u to be calling them beast u sound real racist and u don't no the truth ether to be talking like you sound like the beast and last I check the beast was the mark of the devil and it sound like you and the mob that did that is the devils

[YOUNGGIZZLE2443]

I never knew Duluth had so many African Americans

[YOUNGGIZZLE2443]

I'm from Duluth and I always knew it was more to this story I hate how they where all in the photo while the bodies was still hanging

[jonathan9702003]

There is a difference between being hanged and being lynched. A Lynching is done by a murderous mob of cowards, who don't care if the people being lynched are guilty or not. He's Black, they are Caucasion and they have a half ass excuse and enough people to hide amoungst, to get away with murder. It still happens today, but secretly, at night in the woods to innocent Blacks, who have been kidnapped. The bodies are weighted down and thrown into rivers or burned in bonfires. Yes, even in 2011.

[jonathan9702003]

Not unusual. There is a book titled,"100 years of Lynching". Nothing but newspaper articles reporting lynchings, in gruesome detail. It happened often and Black People were not just hung but quite often tortured first. It's America's oldest tradition and is still in practice. If Republicans get thier way, it will once again be popular.

[northMNmommy]

@MisterBCbudman probably their Ties to Duluth

[MisterBCbudman]

what has this got to do with the EDMUND FITZGERALD sinking ??

[dsweetla]

This could, and would happen today. If someone were accused of rape, especially of being a child molester, I'm sure you could get them lynched in a public street, and have moms, female college students, grammas, men, and children, people of all political backgrounds, all edging into the photo to smile next to the dead child molester they lynched. It doesn't happen in the USA now, only because law enforcement protects prisoners better after Lee Harvey Oswald was embarrassingly shot on live TV.