Mobile in Mobile County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Lynching in America ⎯⎯⎯ The Lynching of Richard Robertson
Community Remembrance Project
Photographed by Jim Ellis, July 21, 2022
1. Lynching in America
Inscription.
Lynching in America, also, The Lynching of Richard Robertson. Community Remembrance Project.
Lynching in America. Racial terror lynching claimed the lives of at least 6,500 Black people in the United States between 1865 and 1859. After the Civil War, many white people remained committed to white supremacy and used lethal violence to maintain racial, economic and social control over Black communities. In 1865, newspapers reported that white mobs burned Black churches and homes in Mobile and that 138 Black people were killed in Alabama over the course of several months. In 1869, riots in Mobile left at least 3 Black people killed whose names were not identified. Lynching emerged as the most public and notorious form of racial terrorism, and white mobs of up to thousands of people targeted Black men, women, and children for participating in politics, working towards economic independence, violation arbitrary social customs, engaging in interracial relationships, and being accused of crimes. Black people faced a presumption of guilt at even the suggestion of attempted violence, especially if the accusation was made by a white person. Using this to justify the lawless mob murder of Black people, public officials and law enforcement regularly declined or failed to protect Black people who were regularly pulled from jails, prisons, courtrooms, or out of police custody and lynched by white mobs. In addition to lynchings that occurred between 1865 and 1876, at least 6 more Black people were lynched in Mobile County between 1877 and 1950.,
The Lynching of Richard Robertson. On January 23, 1909, a mob of about 30 white men abducted Richard Robertson, a 43-year-old Black man, from the Mobile County jail and lynched him on a tree within sight of the jail. Mr. Robertson had been working as a carpenter on a home in downtown Mobile when two white plumbers, also working on the home, accused him of assault. Without further investigation into the accusation, a warrant was issued for Mr. Robertson's arrest. When two white deputies arrived to arrest Mr. Robertson, he objected and ultimately fled after an exchange of gunfire left all three wounded. An officer found Mr. Robertson, suffering from three gunshot wounds, arrested him and took him to the downtown jail. Following news that one of the deputies died, rumors circulated of plans to lynch Mr. Robertson. Despite warnings that a white mob planned to abduct and lynch Mr. Robertson, the sheriff and local law enforcement did nothing to protect him from the impending mob violence. In the early morning hours of January 23, mere hours after Mr. Robertson had been released from the infirmary, a lynch mob kidnapped him from his cell and dragged him through the streets in his underwear as he begged for his life, before firing several shots and hanging him two blocks away from the central police station. Lynch mobs regularly used the lethal violence to deny due process to Black people. Nobody was ever Prosecuted for the lynching of Richard Robertson.
Lynching in America
Racial terror lynching claimed the lives of at least 6,500 Black people in the United States between 1865 and 1859. After the Civil War, many white people remained committed to white supremacy and used lethal violence to maintain racial, economic and social control over Black communities. In 1865, newspapers reported that white mobs burned Black churches and homes in Mobile and that 138 Black people were killed in Alabama over the course of several months. In 1869, riots in Mobile left at least 3 Black people killed whose names were not identified. Lynching emerged as the most public and notorious form of racial terrorism, and white mobs of up to thousands of people targeted Black men, women, and children for participating in politics, working towards economic independence, violation arbitrary social customs, engaging in interracial relationships, and being accused of crimes. Black people faced a presumption of guilt at even the suggestion of attempted violence, especially if the accusation was made by a white person. Using this to justify the lawless mob murder of Black people, public officials
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and law enforcement regularly declined or failed to protect Black people who were regularly pulled from jails, prisons, courtrooms, or out of police custody and lynched by white mobs. In addition to lynchings that occurred between 1865 and 1876, at least 6 more Black people were lynched in Mobile County between 1877 and 1950.
The Lynching of Richard Robertson
On January 23, 1909, a mob of about 30 white men abducted Richard Robertson, a 43-year-old Black man, from the Mobile County jail and lynched him on a tree within sight of the jail. Mr. Robertson had been working as a carpenter on a home in downtown Mobile when two white plumbers, also working on the home, accused him of assault. Without further investigation into the accusation, a warrant was issued for Mr. Robertson's arrest. When two white deputies arrived to arrest Mr. Robertson, he objected and ultimately fled after an exchange of gunfire left all three wounded. An officer found Mr. Robertson, suffering from three gunshot wounds, arrested him and took him to the downtown jail. Following news that one of the deputies died, rumors circulated of plans to lynch Mr. Robertson.
Photographed by Jim Ellis, July 21, 2022
2. The Lynching of Richard Robertson Marker
Despite warnings that a white mob planned to abduct and lynch Mr. Robertson, the sheriff and local law enforcement did nothing to protect him from the impending mob violence. In the early morning hours of January 23, mere hours after Mr. Robertson had been released from the infirmary, a lynch mob kidnapped him from his cell and dragged him through the streets in his underwear as he begged for his life, before firing several shots and hanging him two blocks away from the central police station. Lynch mobs regularly used the lethal violence to deny due process to Black people. Nobody was ever Prosecuted for the lynching of Richard Robertson.
Erected 2021 by Equal Justice Initiative & Mobile County Community Remembrance Project Coalition.
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 January 23, 1909.
Location. 30° 41.345′ N, 88° 2.436′ W. Marker is in Mobile, Alabama, in Mobile County. It is on Church Street near South Royal Street, on the right when traveling west.
Photographed by Jim Ellis, July 21, 2022
3. Side 1 with Mardi Gras Park and city skyline in background
The marker is set back on the sidewalk on the south side of Mardi Grass Park in the Central business district of Mobile. It is also located adjacent to the Mobile Government Plaza (seen in the background) as well to the east of the Christ Church Cathedral on Church Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 148-164 Church St, Mobile AL 36602, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Gulf Coast and in Mobile Bay. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and on the Gulf Coast. 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 New Spain, the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
More about this marker. The marker shows an installed 2021 date; however, due to covid delays related to the casting and shipping of the marker itself this did not happen. Several other delays occurred due to local challenges as described in the Mobile Press Register January 24 & June 9, 2022, over the exact placement of the marker. These were finally resolved with the installation of the marker on July 9th, 2022.
Regarding Lynching in America / The Lynching of Richard Robertson. More on the Community Remembrance Project in Mobile County can be seen on Facebook at "Community Remembrance Project - Mobile County"
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
(Submitted on July 22, 2022, by Jim Ellis of Theodore, Alabama.)
Credits. This page was last revised on October 23, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 21, 2022, by Jim Ellis of Theodore, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,335 times since then and 89 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 21, 2022, by Jim Ellis of Theodore, Alabama. 5. submitted on October 16, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
