August 7th: The Day Lynching was Last Reported in the US

August 7th 1930 was the date of the last confirmed lynching of two African American men in the Northern United States. The police originally accused three men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith and James Cameron (...different James Cameron), of shooting and murdering a white factory worker, Claude Deeter, and raping his white girlfriend, Mary Ball. However, Cameron was later let off the hook, quite literally, as an anonymous person confirmed he took no part in the killing, and in actual fact, Mary Ball had never been raped. 

Justice?: Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith

   Marion, Indiana, the location the lynching happened, was a dangerous and discriminating place to be in 1930. Lynching was a popular method of collectively killing off people who either were not of the majority or norm; and those who disagreed with the majority's actions or beliefs. In this case, the African Americans were principally targeted purely for their racial differences from other white Americans. Between 1882 and 1968, nearly 3,500 African Americans were murdered by lynch mobs; and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacy associations initiated and encouraged even more discrimination against their race. The evil of the lynching mobs and organisations such as the KKK leaves me cold and haunts me to this day, especially on discovering the extent of their behaviour. On being hung by a rope from an elm tree, Abram Smith tried to prevent his neck from being strangled; at which point the mob proceeded to break both his arms so he was unable to attempt to save himself again. How can the KKK, and other white supremacy groups justify that kind of conduct and behaviour towards other human beings??
   Although Shipp and Smith were convicted of murdering Deeter, it does make you question the accuracy behind these accusations. The amount of hatred between black people and white people at the time was so astoundingly high, that this must have affected the law and order, and since it was the white people who had power, they had the upper hand. Sadly, this means a lot of innocent people could have died simply due to extreme racism. One shocking example involves a white editor of the Alton Observer, Elijah Parish Lovejoy, who wrote an article protesting against the act of lynching, and favouring the abolition of slavery; and was lynched himself for holding these "controversial" beliefs. 
    The horrifying image taken by Lawrence Beitler of Shipp and Smith continues to haunt its audience today and offers just a small insight into the fateful history of African Americans and the consequences they had to face for their existence in America.