Cascades Park in Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Lynching in America ⎯⎯⎯ Lynching In Leon County
Community Remembrance Project
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, November 17, 2021
1. Lynching in America side of Marker
Inscription.
Lynching in America, also, Lynching In Leon County. Community Remembrance Project.
Lynching in America. Between 1877 and 1950, thousands of African Americans were victims of mob violence and lynching across the United States. Following the Civil War, white Southerners fiercely resisted equal rights for African Americans and sought to uphold an ideology of white supremacy through intimidation and fatal violence. Lynching emerged as the most public and notorious form of racial terrorism, and state and federal officials largely tolerated these lawless killings of Black women, men, and children by not holding mob participants accountable for their crimes. Many African Americans were lynched for resisting economic exploitation, violating perceived social customs, engaging in interracial relationships, or being accused of crimes, even when there was no evidence tying the accused to any offense. Public spectacle lynchings were often attended by hundreds to thousands of white spectators without fear of legal repercussions, and law enforcement frequently failed to intervene to prevent lynchings. Although the names and stories of many victims may never be known, over 315 racial terror lynchings have been documented in Florida, with at least 4 in Leon County.,
Lynching in Leon County. In Tallahassee, Florida, between 1897 and 1937, racial terror lynchings of African Americans by white mobs created a legacy of violence, intimidation, and injustice that has not been fully acknowledged. At least four racial terror lynchings took place in Leon County, traumatizing the entire Black community. These lawless acts of violence were carried out after African Americans were accused of misconduct or crimes, often without evidence, denying them the right to an impartial investigation and fair trial. Instead, white mobs frequently pulled lynching victims from jails, often facing little to no resistance from law enforcement officers who were legally required to protect the Black people in their custody. In 1897, a white mob abducted Pierce Taylor from the county jail and hanged him from an oak tree before repeatedly shooting his lifeless body. In 1909, after Mick Morris was condemned to die in an unreliable trial that lasted less than a day, a white mob dragged Mr. Morris from the jail and lynched him. More than two decades later, in 1937, a white mob kidnapped two Black teenage boys, Richard Hawkins and Ernest Ponder, from the jail, and shot and killed them before dumping their bodies into a grove of oak trees along the Jacksonville highway. A note found next to the bodies of Richard and Ernest read: "This is the beginning, who is next." Not one was ever held accountable for committing these acts of racial terror.
Lynching in America
Between 1877 and 1950, thousands of African Americans were victims of mob violence and lynching across the United States. Following the Civil War, white Southerners fiercely resisted equal rights for African Americans and sought to uphold an ideology of white supremacy through intimidation and fatal violence. Lynching emerged as the most public and notorious form of racial terrorism, and state and federal officials largely tolerated these lawless killings of Black women, men, and children by not holding mob participants accountable for their crimes. Many African Americans were lynched for resisting economic exploitation, violating perceived social customs, engaging in interracial relationships, or being accused of crimes, even when there was no evidence tying the accused to any offense. Public spectacle lynchings were often attended by hundreds to thousands of white spectators without fear of legal repercussions, and law enforcement frequently failed to intervene to prevent lynchings. Although the names and stories of many victims may never be known, over 315 racial terror lynchings have been documented in Florida, with at least 4 in Leon County.
Lynching in Leon County
In Tallahassee, Florida, between 1897 and 1937, racial terror lynchings of African
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Americans by white mobs created a legacy of violence, intimidation, and injustice that has not been fully acknowledged. At least four racial terror lynchings took place in Leon County, traumatizing the entire Black community. These lawless acts of violence were carried out after African Americans were accused of misconduct or crimes, often without evidence, denying them the right to an impartial investigation and fair trial. Instead, white mobs frequently pulled lynching victims from jails, often facing little to no resistance from law enforcement officers who were legally required to protect the Black people in their custody. In 1897, a white mob abducted Pierce Taylor from the county jail and hanged him from an oak tree before repeatedly shooting his lifeless body. In 1909, after Mick Morris was condemned to die in an unreliable trial that lasted less than a day, a white mob dragged Mr. Morris from the jail and lynched him. More than two decades later, in 1937, a white mob kidnapped two Black teenage boys, Richard Hawkins and Ernest Ponder, from the jail, and shot and killed them before dumping their bodies into a grove of oak trees along the Jacksonville highway. A note found next to the bodies of Richard and Ernest read: "This is the beginning, who is next." Not one was ever held accountable for committing these acts of racial terror.
Erected
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, November 17, 2021
2. Lynching In Leon County side of marker
2020 by Equal Justice Initiative - Tallahassee Community Remembrance Project.
Location. 30° 26.116′ N, 84° 16.621′ W. Marker is in Tallahassee, Florida, in Leon County. It is in Cascades Park. It is at the intersection of East Gaines Street and South Meridian Street, on the right when traveling east on East Gaines Street. Located in Cascades Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Tallahassee FL 32301, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Florida. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Also see . . . Marker Dedication. (Submitted on November 22, 2021, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, November 17, 2021
3. Lynching in America/Lynching In Leon County marker, looking north up South Meridian
Photographed by Brandon D Cross
4. Lynching In Leon County 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 October 14, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 21, 2021, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,000 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on November 21, 2021, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. 4. submitted on October 14, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.
