Lawrenceville in Gwinnett County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Lynching in America
⎯⎯⎯
Lynching of Charles Hale

Community Remembrance Project

Lynching in America Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 6, 2022

1. Lynching in America Marker

Inscription. Lynching in America Thousands of Black people were victims of lynching in the United States between 1865 and 1950. During this era, lynching emerged as the most notorious and public form of racial terrorism, used to enforce racial hierarchy and segregation. Public spectacle lynchings, like the lynching of Charles Hale, were often committed in prominent community locations and attended by hundreds to thousands of white men, women, and children without fear of legal repercussions. Lynch mobs would inflict extreme violence on the body of a victim, then allow the victim to hang for hours in an attempt to instill fear in the Black community. In most cases of racial terror lynching, law enforcement failed to intervene to prevent lynchings. Mobs routinely abducted Black people rom courts, jails, and out of police custody. Local, state, and federal officials tolerated and sometimes encouraged and participated in these lawless killings of Black women, men, and children, especially by granting impunity to mob participants, who rarely faced criminal or communal consequences for their lawlessness. Local officials and police failed

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to protect Black people from mob violence. Although many victims of racial terror lynching will never be known, over 593 lynchings have been documented in Georgia, with at least one known to have taken place in Gwinnett County.

Lynching of Charles Hale Shortly after midnight on April 8, 1911, a mob of at least 200 white men lynched a Black man named Charles Hale in downtown Lawrenceville. The mob broke into the Lawrenceville Jail and abducted Mr. Hale from his cell, with no resistance from the police officers who were armed and responsible for protecting him. The mob dragged Mr. Hale to a telephone pole near the Gwinnett County Courthouse, hanged him, and then shot his body repeatedly. Law enforcement took no action and allowed his body to hang until the next day when white families, including children, posed for photographs with Mr. Hale's mutilated body. The photographs show a sign hanging from Mr. Hale that reads, “Please do not wake him.” According to news reports, on April 7, a white farmer reported that his wife had been assaulted. A posse of white men formed by the sheriff to hunt down the alleged assailant encountered

Lynching of Charles Hale Marker Side image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 6, 2022

2. Lynching of Charles Hale Marker Side

Mr. Hale in the nearby woods and captured him. The mob lynched Mr. Hale before he had the chance to defend himself against the accusation. County officials eventually had Mr. Hale's body removed and buried in a paupers cemetery, making no effort to hold a coroner's inquest or to identify mob participants. None of the mob participants or the county officials who failed to intervene were held accountable for the lynching of Charles Hale.

Erected 2022 by Gwinnett Remembrance Coalition • Equal Justice Initiative.

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 date for this entry is April 8, 1911.

Location. 33° 57.424′ N, 83° 59.374′ W. Marker is in Lawrenceville, Georgia, in Gwinnett County. It is at the intersection of North Perry Street (Georgia Route 20) and Lawrenceville Highway ( Route 8), on the left when traveling south on North Perry Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 186 N Perry St, Lawrenceville GA 30046, United States of

Lynching in America / Lynching of Charles Hale Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 6, 2022

3. Lynching in America / Lynching of Charles Hale Marker

America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Piedmont

and in Metro Atlanta.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep 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 original Thirteen Colonies,

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 marker: In Tribute to Ezzard Charles (a few steps from this marker); Goats on the Square (within shouting distance of this marker); Memorial to the Fallen of 1836 (within shouting distance of this marker); Buggy Steps (within shouting distance of this marker); The Whacking Cane (within shouting distance of this marker); Watering Trough 1873 (within shouting distance of this marker); The Country Doctor (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Gwinnett Historic Courthouse (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lawrenceville.

Another

Lynching of Charles Hale Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, June 14, 2024

4. Lynching of Charles Hale 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

marker is no longer nearby. Confederate Veterans of Gwinnett County, Georgia (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed).

Also see . . .
1. The News-Herald (Lawrenceville, Ga.) April 10, 1911. Digital image of newspaper front page with article about Hale's lynching. Note: Article, part of which is missing because of a bad scan, contains offensive language. (Digital Library of Georgia, Georgia Historic Newspapers project) (Submitted on May 11, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

2. Lawrenceville, April 7, 1911. Lynching of Charlie Hale. A crowd of men and boys – two who are identified as Jack Mathis and Herbert Strayhorn – pose with Hale's mutilated body. Note: Graphic image. (Georgia Archives) (Submitted on May 11, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 16, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 11, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 2,744 times since then and 232 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 11, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 4. submitted on October 16, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.

Lynching in America⎯⎯⎯Lynching of Charles Hale

Community Remembrance Project

Lynching in America
⎯⎯⎯
Lynching of Charles Hale