Tuscaloosa in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Lynching in America ⎯⎯⎯ Lynching in Tuscaloosa County
Community Remembrance Project
Photographed by Mark Hilton, January 19, 2020
1. Lynching in America Marker
Inscription.
Lynching in America, also, Lynching in Tuscaloosa County. Community Remembrance Project.
Lynching in America.
Thousands of African Americans were victims of lynching and racial violence in the United States between the Civil War and World War II. The lynching of African Americans during this era was a form of racial terrorism used to intimidate black people and enforce racial hierarchy and segregation. Lynching was most prevalent in the South. After the Civil War, violent resistance to equal rights for African Americans and an ideology of white supremacy led to fatal violence against black women, men, and children accused of violating social customs, engaging in interracial relationships, or crimes. Community leaders who spoke against this racial terror were themselves often targeted by violent mobs. Lynching became the most public and notorious form of racial terror and subordination directed at black people and was frequently tolerated or even supported by law enforcement and elected officials. Though terror lynching generally took place in communities with functioning criminal justice systems, lynching victims were denied due process, often based on mere accusations, and pulled from jails or delivered to mobs by law officers legally required to protect them. Millions of African Americans fled the South to escape the climate of terror and trauma created by these acts of violence. Of the more than 350 documented racial terror lynchings that took place in Alabama between 1877 and 1950, eight took place in Tuscaloosa County.
Lynching in Tuscaloosa County.
Terror lynching in Tuscaloosa County went unaddressed for decades, devastating the African American community. In December 1889, Bud Wilson was taken from police by a white mob that hung and fatally shot him after he was alleged to have entered the home of a white woman. This lynching followed that of Andy Burke, who was taken from the Tuscaloosa Jail and killed by a mob in 1884. Charles McKelton and John Johnson were removed from police custody by a white mob and hanged from a tree in Romulus on February 11, 1892. On July 12, 1898, over 100 white farmers hung and fatally shot Sidney Johnson near Coaling after he was accused of assaulting two white women. When a black man named John Durrett denounced the mob killing, a white mob surrounded Mr. Durretts home three days later on July 15 and lynched him. Lynchings continued in Tuscaloosa County well into the 20th century. On March 13, 1919, a mob of white men abducted Cicero Cage, a black teenager, near the town of Ralph and lynched him. None of the men who lynched Cicero Cage was ever held accountable. The boys father, Sam Cage, found his son dead with his throat “literally cut to pieces.” On September 24, 1933, after being accused of attempting to assault a white woman near the Tuscaloosa Country Club, Dennis Cross was shot to death by a group of white men who came to his home posing as police officers. The county sheriff later stated that the woman whom Mr. Cross was accused of assaulting had, in fact, never been attacked at all.
Lynching in America
Thousands of African Americans were victims of lynching and racial violence in the United States between the Civil War and World War II. The lynching of African Americans during this era was a form of racial terrorism used to intimidate black people and enforce racial hierarchy and segregation. Lynching was most prevalent in the South. After the Civil War, violent resistance to equal rights for African Americans and an ideology of white supremacy led to fatal violence against black women, men, and children accused of violating social customs, engaging in interracial relationships, or crimes. Community leaders who spoke against this racial terror were themselves often targeted by violent mobs. Lynching became the most public and notorious form of racial terror and subordination directed at black people and was frequently tolerated or even supported by law enforcement and elected officials. Though terror lynching generally took place in communities with functioning criminal justice systems, lynching victims were denied due process, often based on mere accusations, and pulled from jails or delivered to mobs by law officers legally required to protect them. Millions of African Americans fled the South to escape the climate of terror and trauma created by these acts of violence. Of the more than 350 documented racial terror lynchings that took place in Alabama between 1877 and 1950, eight took place in Tuscaloosa County.
Lynching in Tuscaloosa County
Terror lynching in Tuscaloosa County went unaddressed for decades, devastating the African American community. In December 1889, Bud Wilson was taken from police by a white mob that hung and fatally shot him after he was alleged to have entered the home of a white woman. This lynching followed that of Andy Burke, who was taken from the Tuscaloosa Jail and killed by a mob in 1884.
Charles McKelton and John Johnson were removed from police custody by a white mob and hanged from a tree in Romulus on February 11, 1892. On July 12, 1898, over 100 white farmers hung and fatally shot Sidney Johnson near Coaling after he was accused of assaulting two white women. When a black man named John Durrett denounced the mob killing, a white mob surrounded Mr. Durretts home three days later on July 15 and lynched him. Lynchings continued in Tuscaloosa County well into the 20th century. On March 13, 1919, a mob of white men abducted Cicero Cage, a black teenager, near the town of Ralph and lynched him. None of the men who lynched Cicero Cage was ever held accountable. The boys father, Sam Cage, found his son dead with his throat “literally cut to pieces.” On September 24, 1933, after being accused of attempting to assault a white woman near the Tuscaloosa Country Club, Dennis Cross was shot to death by a group of white men who came to his home posing as police officers. The county sheriff later stated that the woman whom Mr. Cross was accused of assaulting had, in fact, never been attacked at all.
Erected 2017
Click or scan to see this page online
by Equal Justice Initiative - Community Remembrance Project.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. In addition, it is included in the Lynching in America series list. A significant historical date for this entry is February 11, 1892.
Location. 33° 12.43′ N, 87° 34.409′ W. Marker is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in Tuscaloosa County. It is at the intersection of 6th Street and 28th Avenue, on the right when traveling east on 6th Street. Located at the former the old Tuscaloosa City Jail. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2803 6th Street, Tuscaloosa AL 35401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this
3. View of marker along 6th Street across from Capitol Park.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, January 19, 2020
4. The Old Tuscaloosa City Jail, next to the marker.
This is site #2 on the Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Trail.
From 1856-1890 it served as the county jail and then as a boarding house. It has 28-inch thick walls and heavy floors hewed from local timber. It is the jail from which Burke was seized by a white mob and lynched.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 6, 2024
5. Lynching in Tuscaloosa County replica marker.
A Replica marker of one side is located at the Equal Justice Initiatives' National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. The Equal Justice Initiative supports efforts to locally memorialize documented victims of racial violence and to educate communities about the history of racial injustice.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 11, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 19, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,610 times since then and 115 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 19, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 5. submitted on April 6, 2024, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
