Conley Hills in East Point in Fulton County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Lynching in America / The Lynching of Zeb Long
Community Remembrance Project
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 11, 2023
1. Lynching in America side of marker
Inscription.
Lynching in America, also, The Lynching of Zeb Long. Community Remembrance Project.
Lynching in America . Between 1865 and 1950, thousands of Black people were victims of lynching across the United States. Following the Civil War, many 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, which often went beyond hanging and included death by gunshot, burning, or mutilation. Many Black people 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. White mobs regularly disregarded the legal system, seizing their victims from police custody or lynching victims in broad daylight before crowds of spectators. Law enforcement officers routinely failed to resist mobs or prevent lynchings, and at times, actively participated in mob violence. State and federal officials largely tolerated these lawless killings of Black women, men, and children by not committing to robust investigations after lynchings or even identifying mob participants to hold them accountable for their crimes. Many victims of racial terror lynching will never be known, but at least 595 racial terror lynchings have been documented in Georgia between 1865 and 1950. At least 36 of those victims were lynched in Fulton County.,
The Lynching of Zeb Long . On the morning of September 24, 1906, the body of a 30-year-old Black man named Zeb Long was found hanging from a tree in East Point. Two days earlier, a mob of at least 5,000 white men and boys began terrorizing and violently attacking Black men, women, and children in the Atlanta area, inciting the four-day 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre. Law enforcement failed to intervene until the Governor ordered state troops to regain control of the city. As police reamed East Point on the evening of September 23 they encountered Mr. Long and arrested him for “incendiary talk about the way white people were treating negroes.” The officers took Mr. Long to the small wooden jail in East Point that was described by a local newspaper as a “flimsy” shack. The arresting officer took no further precautions, and around 5:00 am on September 24, a mob of at least 50 white men stormed the jail and kidnapped Mr. Long. Placing a rope around his neck, the mob dragged Mr. Long to a wooded area about half a mile west of the jail. Though Mr. Lang “begged for his life,” the mob “promptly” lynched him and left his body hanging to a tree. A coroner's jury determined on September 25 that Mr. Long had been killed by “unknown parties,” and no further investigation was made. No one who participated in the white mob violence that terrorized the East Point Black community and lynched Mr. Long between September 22 to 25 was held accountable for their crimes.
Lynching in America
Between 1865 and 1950, thousands of Black people were victims of lynching across the United States. Following the Civil War, many 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, which often went beyond hanging and included death by gunshot, burning, or mutilation. Many Black people 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. White mobs regularly disregarded the legal system, seizing their victims from police custody or lynching victims in broad daylight before crowds of spectators. Law enforcement officers routinely failed to resist mobs or prevent lynchings, and at times, actively participated in mob violence. State and federal officials largely tolerated these lawless killings of Black women, men, and children by not committing to robust investigations after lynchings or even identifying mob participants to hold them accountable for their crimes. Many victims of racial terror lynching will never be known, but at least 595 racial
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terror lynchings have been documented in Georgia between 1865 and 1950. At least 36 of those victims were lynched in Fulton County.
The Lynching of Zeb Long
On the morning of September 24, 1906, the body of a 30-year-old Black man named Zeb Long was found hanging from a tree in East Point. Two days earlier, a mob of at least 5,000 white men and boys began terrorizing and violently attacking Black men, women, and children in the Atlanta area, inciting the four-day 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre. Law enforcement failed to intervene until the Governor ordered state troops to regain control of the city. As police reamed East Point on the evening of September 23 they encountered Mr. Long and arrested him for “incendiary talk about the way white people were treating negroes.” The officers took Mr. Long to the small wooden jail in East Point that was described by a local newspaper as a “flimsy” shack. The arresting officer took no further precautions, and around 5:00 am on September 24, a mob of at least 50 white men stormed the jail and kidnapped Mr. Long. Placing a rope around his neck, the mob dragged Mr. Long to a wooded area about half a mile west of the jail. Though Mr. Lang “begged for his life,” the mob “promptly” lynched him and left his body hanging to a tree. A coroner's jury determined on September 25 that Mr. Long had been killed by “unknown
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 11, 2023
2. The Lynching of Zeb Long side of marker
parties,” and no further investigation was made. No one who participated in the white mob violence that terrorized the East Point Black community and lynched Mr. Long between September 22 to 25 was held accountable for their crimes.
Erected 2022 by Fulton County 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 September 24, 1906.
Location. 33° 41.043′ N, 84° 26.977′ W. Marker is in East Point, Georgia, in Fulton County. It is in Conley Hills. Marker is on Warren Way south of Headland Drive, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1865 Warren Way, Atlanta GA 30344, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . Atlanta Race Massacre of 1906. Between September 24 and September 26, 1906, white mobs killed dozens of Black Atlantans, wounded scores of others, and inflicted considerable property damage. Known thereafter as the Atlanta Race Riot, or the Atlanta Race Massacre, the event was one of a series of violent conflagrations that erupted in southern cities during the dawn of the Jim Crow era. (Clifford Kuhn and Gregory Mixon, New Georgia Encyclopedia) (Submitted on July 3, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Credits. This page was last revised on October 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 3, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 145 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on July 3, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
