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| The Lynching of Mr. Jesse Washington - May 15, 1916 - Waco, TX |
Don't look away! This is American History.
Don't look away! May 15th of this year was a special day in that history.
Don't look away! That was the 100th anniversary of the lynching of Mr. Jesse Washington.
Don't look away! 100th year anniversaries are worthy of being noted.
Don't look away! The mainstream media ignored that anniversary -- so, now, I'm your teacher!
Many of you have seen this horrid photograph before, in some article about the horrors of lynching in the South or something of that like. In fact, though this is easily one of the most gruesome photographs of a lynching, it's also probably one of the best known.
Because see, there was a photographer -- at that lynching -- taking pictures, and he created postcards as souvenirs. I'm told they were a hot-selling item in 1916. Not quite as hot-selling as the charred fingers, toes and ears of the lynching victim . . . but hot enough.
But let me not simply call him "the lynching victim." He's been called that too many times over the last 100 years. That just might be why we still now have to shout "Black Lives Matter."
(SAY MY NAME!)
His name was Jesse.(SAY MY NAME!)
His name was Jesse Washington.
(SAY MY NAME!)
His name was Jesse Washington, and he was only 17-years old. A farmhand. Looking forward to his 18th birthday just a few months away.
On May 8th, he was sitting in his yard, happily whistling and whittling away when Deputy Sheriff Lee Jenkins walked over and told him to get into the law enforcement official's car.
Although Jenkins would give no reason why, Washington complied. Most colored folk would back then in 1916, since they were still colored. Tired, the teenager innocently fell asleep in the back seat of the police car. The last peaceful sleep he would have here on earth.
When they got to the sheriff's office in Waco, Washington was sat down and told that he should confess to killing Lucy Fryer, a 53-year old white woman who employed Washington and other of his family members to help with the farm. Oh, and he should confess to raping her, too.
Washington swore he didn't do it. After some hours of "Waco-persuasion," he changed his mind.
The sheriff would later say that Washington gave him information as to where to find the murderous hammer used to bash in her head.
The trial was held on May 15, 1916. It lasted less than an hour. The jury took four-and-a- half minutes to find him guilty.
Judge Richard Irby Munroe nodded and was about to hand down Washington's sentence when a voice from the back of the courtroom called out; "Get the nigger!"
A mob of more than 500 men dragged him through the streets, and cut off his testicles before tying him to a tree. They then lowered him over a bonfire, and then raised him back up, only to lower him again. They did this for two hours, while a crowd of about 15,000 cheered . . . . though not quite loud enough to drown out Washington's screams.
Lowering and raising him over the dancing flames. Lowering and raising him until his Black body was charcoal, and the screaming finally stopped. It took two hours for the screaming to stop.
As his body finally lay on the ground smoldering some of the crowd would reach over and snap off a finger or a toe.
When his body finally cooled school children reached inside his jaw and snapped out teeth to sell as souvenirs. They sold for a hefty five dollars apiece.
Law enforcement was there, and so was the mayor. No one did anything to stop the gruesome lynching of Jesse Washington. In fact, there are rumors that it was the mayor who called photographer Fred Gildersleeve over to City Hall for the express purpose of taking pictures to commemorate the occasion.
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| “This is the barbeque we had last night. My picture is to the left with a cross over it. Your son, Joe.” (actual postcard mailed in 1916) |
"Jesse Washington was an illiterate and probably didn't even understand the charges against him," the northern liberals cried!
(SAY MY NAME!)
"It could have been the husband who killed Lucy Fryer, not Jesse Washington," the Black newspapers shouted!
(SAY MY NAME!)
"As people of color, we know that we all that any one of us could be the next Jesse Washington!" hollered the northern Black community and political leaders!
Oh yes! Most of the nation was outraged about Jesse Washington's barbaric and torturous slaying.
For a couple of years, anyway.
After awhile there were other lynchings to discuss. The Red Summer of 1919, with all of it's race riots in Detroit, Washington D.C., New York City. Prohibition starts. Bessie Smith is singing and recording the blues. The Harlem Renaissance begins.
(Say My Name!)
People still talk about the "Waco Horror."
(Say my name?)
Black politicians begin to emerge in the North and South and still refer to the "Waco Lynching" to get folks riled up.
(say my name? please?)
The Civil Rights Movement starts and progress is being made left and right by Black folks and, "Thank God, we don't have any more lynching like that one kid back in Texas. What year was that again?"
His name was Jesse Washington, he was 17-years old. And yes, too many people have forgotten his name. The nation was outraged at this death, newspapers editorialized, W. E. B. DuBois frothed at the mouth, and . . . now . . . ?
And . . . now?
In 2012 another 17-year old African-American boy was slaughtered, and his death also outraged a nation.
I wonder if it's because Jesse Washington's name was so easily forgotten that this other teenager's death was also allowed to happen without consequence to his murderer?
Maybe if we learned lasting lessons from what had already happened to us we wouldn't be mourning the death of a 18-year old in Ferguson, and mourning not only his death but the fact that his death was not avenged.
Perhaps if we remembered Jesse Washington -- remembered what happened to him and why --- perhaps . . . just maybe, the memory would have us so on guard, so on point, that a 12-year-old boy playing with a toy gun might still be alive.
Because maybe our collective racial memory would have been so strong that we would have already let the powers-that-be-know that we will not just stand by and let them pick off our young Black men and women.
So! This is your American History lesson for the day.
SAY HIS NAME!!!
Trayvon Martin
SAY HIS NAME!!
Michael Brown
SAY HIS NAME!!
Tamir Rice
Damn right! And if you mean what you say about never forgetting these names we won't have to have this same American History lesson a hundred years from now.
Because there'll be no need.
Class dismissed!
18 comments:
I found this to be very informative.
Wow.This was definitely a lesson.
This was a very important lesson. I didn't know the story behind this photo at all. I'll certainly never forget.
It's an important history lesson and I think she is right. Maybe if we remembered we wouldn't allow history to repeat itself.
Powerful lesson! !
Very good history lesson , But we need to pick our battles. Having Michael Brown , mixed in with the likes of Trayvon Martin , and Tamir Rice , is just wrong . I'm glad I didn't run into Michael Brown that day .
Wow...all this time I thought this photo was the lynching and burning of Zachariah Walker in Coatesville, PA in 1911. The photo on p. 43 of Coatesville and the lynching of Zachariah Walker shows Brother Walker's body so burned that his remains fit inside a shoe box! Zachariah killed in self defense and them poor ignorant heathen's pull him out his hospital bed, lynched and burned him. I live in Coatesville and it is a spiritual graveyard.
These senseless murders sicken me. We need to declare ourselves collectively independent of this United States which was never for us and no longer allow them to kill us and have no repercussions for thier actions.
We can spend the rest of our lives dredging up atrocities like this from the past and screaming, "Never forget," but we don't have to. ISIS is doing these same types of things right now. What is the point of bringing up something awful like this from the past anyway? Are you trying to shame the white people who did this? They're all long dead. So what exactly IS your point?
Did he rape and kill that woman? If he did, he deserved his punishment. Channon Christian and Christopher Newson were never accused of anything, yet they were raped, tortured, and murdered by a gang of blacks.
Most every race on the planet has been enslaved, tortured and murdered at some point in history. Why does this particular race's enslavement bear talking about forever? Wouldn't it be better for black children to never know that their race used to be thought of as less than... ?
Wouldn't it better better for every child not to know that blacks used to be considered less than....?
So who by name has been brought to justice. Who by name are the participants. Where are they now?
This picture is the lynching of Zachariah Walker on August of 1911 in Coatesville, PA not the lynching of Jesse Washington.
This is very well written and a thorough description of the horrific events that took place May 15, 1916. The photo above is indeed Jesse Washington as they did cut off all of his limbs. Justice was never brought to anyone including his family for this tragedy. I remember back in May of 2016 the Waco Mayor Malcolm Duncan, Jr. apologized to Jesse Washingtons family on behalf of the city. That simply just wasn't enough in my opinion. I make it my duty to remind people of this tragedy every chance I get. As black people, as African people we need to educate ourselves on our history more often as it would help influence our mindsets and behaviors today. Our people, our ancestors suffered tremendously and no one cared. NO ONE CARED!
Hi. I'm posting this comment from the other side of the Atlantic. A country called France, on a continent that has no lesson to give to anyone dealing with the various ways to enslave, oppress, exploit, massacre, colonize, humiliate, burn, reduce to mere pieces and ultimately annihilate people of all races, religions, nations, origins and political trends. In a way, my opinion is that we almost "invented" numerous modern ways to do so (colonisation, fascism and nazism being examples of that). But there is ALWAYS something so stuning, something that puzzles me and shakes me at the deepest of my heart : the "laughing crowd", the grins and joy to watch another human being reduced to pieces... When looking at pictures taken during WWII showing Jews being beaten to death in a street you can also see that pleasure. Same thing with French "colons" killing Algerians in the 50s.
This is a mystery, an absolute mystryto me...
Forgive my akward english.
Thanks for the revival of M.Jesse Washington's memory
Olivier
High school, history class. We began to learn about American history and these atrocities, on every occasion of this type of gruesomeness I silently walked out of class and knowing the teachers response I said, 'Going to the Deans office'. On the second walkout others followed but this time we walked to the library until the next class bell rang.
I nor others were suspended but that part of American history wasn't mentioned in future classes... so I heard.
Watching this video brought back those feeling of disgust. Tho I was allowed at home to read LIFE magazine, the torn internal feelings never subsided today.
Before saying who I am I must ask you to think about the whole existence of humankind all the way back to the caveman days. EVERY CULTURE around this globe performed atrocities like this and worse to others and their own so do not blame it on just today's America for no one alive now was a performer or witness back then.
I'm a white male in retirement age, LET IT GO... LET IT ALL GO AND MOVE ON.
Rodney said, "Why can't we all just get along?" I say, please do.
Will we ever learn...the human race?
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