RARE ORIGINAL HISTORICAL EPHEMERA
AN UGLY VIEW INTO AMERICA'S RACE CRIMES
RUSSELLVILLE, KENTUCKY 1908
RACIST HATE CRIME MOB LYNCHING
FOUR AFRICAN AMERICAN SHARECROPPERS WERE ARRESTED AND HUNG BY A MOB FOR ASSOCIATING WITH ANOTHER BLACK FARMER WHO SHOT A WHITE MAN IN SELF DEFENSE
NEWSPAPERS IN NEW YORK REPORTED THE EVENTS:
"On August 1st of [1908], four men were hanged simultaneously in Logan County, Kentucky. Joseph Riley, and Virgil, Robert, and Thomas Jones were discontented sharecroppers in Russellville, Kentucky, with whom a man named Rufus Browder was a friend and lodge brother. When Browder and James Cuningham, the farmer for whom he worked, had an argument, Browder turned away when Cunningham cursed him and struck him with a whip. Cunningham then drew his pistol and shot Browder in the chest. Browder, in self-defense, returned the fire and killed Cunningham. After having his wounds tended to, Browder was arrested and sent to Louisville for his own protection. Subsequently, the three Jones men and Riley were conducting a lodge meeting in a private home when police entered and arrested them for disturbing the peace. In fact, they were arrested for having expressed approval of Browder's actions and discontentment with their employers. On August 1, 1908 one hundred men entered the jail and demanded the prisoners. The jailer complied, and the four men were hanged from the same tree. A note pinned to one of the men read, "Let this be a warning to you n---ers to let white people alone or you will go the same way."
THIS IS AN ORIGINAL SILVER GELATIN PHOTO
FOUND IN THE BACK OF A KENTUCKY FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM, TAKEN BY LOCAL REPORTER
MINOR B. WADE (1874-1932)
IT MEASURES 3.5 x 5 INCHES
THE ONLY OTHER KNOWN ORIGINAL OF THIS PHOTO IS HELD IN THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, THOUGH IT IS SLIGHTLY SMALLER AND NOT IN AS NICE OF CONDITION AS THIS EXAMPLE
THE CONDITION IS VERY GOOD, WITH VERY LIGHT EDGE WEAR AND SCRAPBOOK RESIDUE ON REVERSE
GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC
PLEASE SEE IMAGES
Free secure domestic shipping on most items, using re-usable and recycled packaging wherever possible.
Similar #ephemerafinds:
Recently viewed
More from Our Entire Inventory
