Fear, Terror and Lynchings

Lesson starter:Describe how Jim Crow Laws affected the lives of Black Americans.

(5marks)

You need five separate sentences with five separate points for full

marks here.

Today we will…

• Understand what is meant by lynching

• Understand why it was difficult for Black Americans to find justice in the South

LynchingThis word describes a

variety of murders, tortures and punishments given to Black Americans. Usually carried out by mob

action.

• ‘Lynch Law’ was when white people would decide that a Black person was guilty of a ‘crime’ and would then punish them

• There was no trial to decide who would be lynched – it was completely illegal

• Yet little was done to stop it

You will see some photographs of lynching.

Take some notes on what you notice about the pictures.

Think about• Victims

• Onlookers• locations

Characteristics of lynching

• Black victim• Man/woman/child victim• Public place• Slow death i.e. hanging• White crowd looking on (including

women and children)• Seen as a social occasion

Emmett Till• 14 yr old boy visiting

relatives in Mississippi• He flirted with a white

shop assistant• Body found in

Tallahatchie river with horrendous injuries

• Mother could not identify body

• All-White jury gave a non-guilty verdict

Why was there no justice for victims of lynching?

• Witness statements would be ‘lost’ or ignored

• Witnesses worried about reprisals

• All-white police force• All-white juries in courts• Many top lawyers and

police were involved in the KKK

• Black people were almost always found guilty

The Scottsboro Boys An example of injustice

• Nine young men arrested for raping two white women on a train

• Eight of nine sentenced to death

• Little evidence• Thousands of people went

to protest at the trial• One woman eventually

retracted her statement• Trials dragged on for

years• The case highlighted

injustice for Black Americans