Downtown - Waterfront in Duluth in Saint Louis County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Lynching in America / Lynching in Duluth
Community Remembrance Project
July 28, 2022
1. Lynching in America Marker
Inscription.
Lynching in America, also, Lynching in Duluth. Community Remembrance Project.
Lynching in America. Thousands of African Americans were the victims of lynching and racial violence in the United States between 1877 and 1950, including in St. Louis County, MN. Lynching of African Americans during this era was a form of racial terrorism intended to intimidate Black people and enforce racial hierarchy and segregation. After the Civil War, violent resistance to equal rights for formerly enslaved people led to violent abuse and decades of political, social, and economic exploitation. Racial terror lynching became the most public and notorious form of terror and subordination. White mobs were usually permitted to engage in racial terror and brutal violence with impunity. Many Black people were pulled out of jails or given over to mobs by law enforcement officials who were legally required to protect them. Terror lynchings often included burning and mutilation, sometimes in front of crowds numbering in the thousands. These lawless acts of violence targeted African Americans accused of misconduct or crimes, all of whom were killed without trial , many under false accusations. The names of many lynching victims were not recorded or remain unknown, but over 4400 racial terror lynchings have been documented across the country. Memorializing these victims of terror lynchings is critical in addressing our nation's history of racial injustice and in advancing the continuing struggle for equality and the elimination of bias and bigotry.,
Lynching in Duluth. On the night of June 15, 1920, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie, three young African American men in their early 20's, were lynched on this site by a mob of white Duluth residents. The three men were in town working with a traveling circus when two white teenagers falsely claimed that six Black circus workers assaulted them and raped a local white woman. Without any physical evidence of a crime, six Black men were arrested and held in the old Duluth jail located one block away on Superior Street. During this era of Black migration, many white workers in Duluth and other Northern cities resented the presence of Black workers. Although Duluth's Black population in 1920 was less than 1 percent, racial tension was high. As sensational reports of the accusations circulated, white residents were incited to rage and mob vengeance. A mob of at least 5,000 broke into the jail, and kidnapped Elias, Elmer, and Isaac. The men were stripped, tortured, dragged, and hanged from a lamppost on this spot in front of a crowd of an estimated 10,000 people. Members of the mob smiled and posed for photographs with their bodies that were later sold as postcards. The Minnesota National Guard arrived the next morning to secure the area and to guard the surviving Black men, but no one was ever arrested or convicted for the lynchings. Elias, Elmer, and Isaac would lie buried in unmarked graves for 70 years in nearby Park Hill Cemetery.
Lynching in America
Thousands of African Americans were the victims of lynching and racial violence in the United States between 1877 and 1950, including in St. Louis County, MN. Lynching of African Americans during this era was a form of racial terrorism intended to intimidate Black people and enforce racial hierarchy and segregation. After the Civil War, violent resistance to equal rights for formerly enslaved people led to violent abuse and decades of political, social, and economic exploitation. Racial terror lynching became the most public and notorious form of terror and subordination. White mobs were usually permitted to engage in racial terror and brutal violence with impunity. Many Black people were pulled out of jails or given over to mobs by law enforcement officials who were legally required to protect them. Terror lynchings often included burning and mutilation, sometimes in front of crowds numbering in the thousands. These lawless acts of violence targeted African Americans accused of misconduct or crimes, all of whom were killed without trial — many under false accusations. The names of many lynching victims were not recorded or remain unknown, but over 4400 racial terror lynchings have been documented across the country. Memorializing these victims of terror lynchings is critical in addressing
Click or scan to see this page online
our nation's history of racial injustice and in advancing the continuing struggle for equality and the elimination of bias and bigotry.
Lynching in Duluth
On the night of June 15, 1920, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie, three young African American men in their early 20's, were lynched on this site by a mob of white Duluth residents. The three men were in town working with a traveling circus when two white teenagers falsely claimed that six Black circus workers assaulted them and raped a local white woman. Without any physical evidence of a crime, six Black men were arrested and held in the old Duluth jail located one block away on Superior Street. During this era of Black migration, many white workers in Duluth and other Northern cities resented the presence of Black workers. Although Duluth's Black population in 1920 was less than 1 percent, racial tension was high. As sensational reports of the accusations circulated, white residents were incited to rage and mob vengeance. A mob of at least 5,000 broke into the jail, and kidnapped Elias, Elmer, and Isaac. The men were stripped, tortured, dragged, and hanged from a lamppost on this spot in front of a crowd of an estimated 10,000 people. Members of the mob smiled and posed for photographs with their bodies that were later sold as postcards. The Minnesota National Guard arrived
July 28, 2022
2. Lynching in Duluth Marker
the next morning to secure the area and to guard the surviving Black men, but no one was ever arrested or convicted for the lynchings. Elias, Elmer, and Isaac would lie buried in unmarked graves for 70 years in nearby Park Hill Cemetery.
Erected 2020 by the Equal Justice Initiative and the city of Duluth.
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 June 15, 1920.
Location. 46° 47.38′ N, 92° 5.806′ W. Marker is in Duluth, Minnesota, in Saint Louis County. It is in Downtown - Waterfront. Marker is at the intersection of East 1st Street and North 2nd Avenue East, on the right when traveling west on East 1st Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 201 E 1st St, Duluth MN 55805, United States of America. Touch for directions.
4. Lynching in America / Lynching in Duluth Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 22, 2022. This page has been viewed 183 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 22, 2022.
