Downtown in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Lynching in America ⎯⎯⎯ The Lynchings of Henry and Ephraim Grizzard
Community Remembrance Project
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, April 4, 2020
1. Lynching in America Marker
Inscription.
Lynching in America
Thousands of African Americans were the victims of lynchings and racial violence in the United States between 1877 and 1950. After the Civil War, violent resistance to equal rights for African Americans and an ideology of white supremacy led to violent abuse of racial minorities and decades of political, social, and economic exploitation. After the end of Reconstruction, the lynching of African Americans became the most public and notorious form of racial terrorism, intended to intimidate black people and enforce racial hierarchy and segregation. It was not unusual for white mobs to seize their victims from jails, prisons, courtrooms, or out of police hands. Though officers were charged to protect those in their custody, police almost never used force to resist white mobs and sometimes gave black people
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over to mobs that were allowed to engage in racial terror and brutal violence with impunity. Terror lynchings often included burning and mutilation, sometimes in front of crowds numbering in the thousands, as was the case for Ephraim Grizzard. Many of the names of lynching victims were not recorded and remain unknown, but over 200 documented lynchings took place in Tennessee alone, at least four having taken place in Davidson County.
The Lynchings of Henry and Ephraim Grizzard
In the spring of 1892, one of the most violent public events in Nashville's history occurred at this site. On April 24, 1892, two black men were accused of assaulting two white women near Goodlettsville. Henry Grizzard and Ephraim Grizzard, brothers, were arrested on suspicion, along with three other black men. During this era, the deep racial hostility that
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, April 4, 2020
2. The Lynchings of Henry and Ephraim Grizzard Marker
permeated Southern society burdened black people with a presumption of guilt that often focused suspicion on black communities after crimes were alleged. whether evidence supported that suspicion or not. Without a trial, Henry was lynched the next day by white residents of Davidson and Sumner County at Mansker's Creek. Ephraim, however, was taken to Nashville's jail to await trial. On April 30th, leaders of an angry white mob violently abducted Ephraim from the jail and hanged him from the Woodland Street Bridge before piercing his body with hundreds of bullets. Thousands of "well-to-do, respectable citizens" supported lawless mob violence that threatened the black community. Ephraim Grizzard's body was taken back to Goodlettsville, where it was burned publicly to further terrorize black residents. Black community members who sought to protest
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, August 17, 2022
3. Lynching in America / The Lynchings of Henry and Ephraim Grizzard Marker
and complain about racial terror lynchings were themselves threatened with violence and forced to flee the community, adding to the trauma and tragedy surrounding these lynchings.
Erected 2019 by Equal Justice Initiative and We Remember Nashville.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Law Enforcement. In addition, it is included in the Lynching in America series list. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1892.
Location. 36° 10.003′ N, 86° 46.626′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Downtown. It is at the intersection of 1st Avenue North and Union Street North, on the right when traveling north on 1st Avenue North. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Nashville TN 37201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally,
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, August 17, 2022
4. Lynching in America / The Lynchings of Henry and Ephraim Grizzard Marker
this marker is in Middle Tennessee. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, 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.
6. The Lynchings of Henry and Ephraim Grizzard 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.” Mark Hilton
Credits. This page was last revised on August 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 7, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 1,822 times since then and 114 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on April 7, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 3, 4. submitted on January 29, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 5. submitted on April 7, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 6. submitted on October 27, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
