Near Hickory in Newton County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)
Lynching in America / Lynching in Newton County
Community Remembrance Project
Photographed By Mark Hilton, October 24, 2023
1. Lynching in America Marker
The rear of the marker is located under a large tree, keeping the marker without much sunlight.
Inscription.
Lynching in America, also, Lynching in Newton County. Community Remembrance Project.
Lynching in America. Over 6,500 African Americans were victims of racial terror lynching in the United States between 1865 and 1950. Following the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War, many white Americans remained committed to upholding the ideology of white supremacy. In Mississippi, chattel slavery's legacy continued in the practice of sharecropping, an exploitative arrangement in which Black laborers farmed white- owned land for little to no pay. Despite this hostile environment, emancipated Black people established Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Newton in 1908. The church stands less than half a mile from the lynching site of its former congregants: Frank Johnson, Dee Dawkins, and William Fielder. Black people were lynched for exercising their political rights, accusations of crimes, and perceived violations of social customs. Mob violence often included the destruction or theft of Black property. Lynching was ultimately meant to instill fear within the entire Black community and enforce racial hierarchy. White elected officials, law enforcement officers and community leaders were often involved in racial terror lynchings or failed to hold those responsible for white mob violence accountable. Although the names and stories of many victims may never be known, over 655 racial terror lynchings have been documented in Mississippi, with at least 6 in Newton County.,
Lynching in Newton County. On October 10, 1908, a mob of white people brutally shot, tortured, and lynched Frank Johnson, Dee Dawkins, and William Fielder near Hickory, Mississippi. On October 8, a Black sharecropper named Shep Jones had a disagreement about his work schedule with his white employer. The white planter assaulted Mr. Jones, leading to an altercation that ended with the white man’s death. Mr. Jones fled Newton County, aware that Black people were not believed to have a right to defend themselves against white people and that he was at risk of being lynched. For the next two days, an angry white mob terrorized the entire Black community in a manhunt for Mr. Jones. The mob destroyed property owned by Black people, burned a Black church and meeting lodge near Gardlandville, and threatened Black families. On October 9, the mob hanged Mr. Jones’s father-in-law, William Fielder, from a tree near his home. The next morning, unable to locate Mr. Jones but refusing to be denied a lynching, the mob lynched Dee Dawkins and Frank Johnson, two Black men who were targeted merely for being associated with Mr. Jones. In response to the violence, many Black people were so traumatized by the violence that they fled Newton County. White elected officials and law enforcement failed to hold anyone accountable for the destruction of Black property or the lynchings.
Lynching in America
Over 6,500 African Americans were victims of racial terror lynching in the United
States between 1865 and 1950. Following the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil
War, many white Americans remained committed to upholding the ideology of white
supremacy. In Mississippi, chattel slavery's legacy continued in the practice of
sharecropping, an exploitative arrangement in which Black laborers farmed white-
owned land for little to no pay. Despite this hostile environment, emancipated Black
people established Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Newton in 1908. The
church stands less than half a mile from the lynching site of its former congregants:
Frank Johnson, Dee Dawkins, and William Fielder. Black people were lynched for
exercising their political rights, accusations of crimes, and perceived violations of social customs. Mob violence often included the destruction or theft of Black property. Lynching was ultimately meant to instill fear within the entire Black community and enforce racial hierarchy. White elected officials, law enforcement officers and community leaders were often involved in racial terror lynchings or failed to hold those responsible for white mob violence accountable. Although the names and stories of many victims may never be known, over 655 racial terror lynchings
Click or scan to see this page online
have been documented in Mississippi, with at least 6 in Newton County.
Lynching in Newton County
On October 10, 1908, a mob of white people brutally shot, tortured, and lynched Frank Johnson, Dee Dawkins, and William Fielder near Hickory, Mississippi. On October 8, a Black sharecropper named Shep Jones had a disagreement about his work schedule with his white employer. The white planter assaulted Mr. Jones, leading to an altercation that ended with the white man’s death. Mr. Jones fled Newton County, aware that Black people were not believed to have a right to defend themselves against white people and that he was at risk of being lynched. For the next two days, an angry white mob terrorized the entire Black community in a manhunt for Mr. Jones. The mob destroyed property owned by Black people, burned a Black church and meeting lodge near Gardlandville, and threatened Black families. On October 9, the mob hanged Mr. Jones’s father-in-law, William Fielder, from a tree near his home. The next morning, unable to locate Mr. Jones but refusing to be denied a lynching, the mob lynched Dee Dawkins and Frank Johnson, two Black men who were targeted merely for being associated with Mr. Jones. In response to the violence, many Black people were so traumatized by the violence that they fled Newton County. White elected officials and law enforcement failed
Photographed By Mark Hilton, October 24, 2023
2. Lynching in Newton County Marker
to hold anyone accountable for the destruction of Black property or the lynchings.
Erected 2021 by Newton County Remembrance Project, Equal Justice Initiative.
Location. 32° 14.897′ N, 89° 1.881′ W. Marker is near Hickory, Mississippi, in Newton County. Marker can be reached from Good Hope Church Road, 1.6 miles south of State Route 503, on the left when traveling south. Located next to the Good Hope M.B. Church. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hickory MS 39332, United States of America. Touch for directions.
3. Marker located next to the Good Hope M.B. Church.
. (Submitted on October 24, 2023, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 6, 2024
4. Lynching in Newton County replica 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.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 6, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 24, 2023, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 98 times since then and 46 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on October 24, 2023, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 4. submitted on April 6, 2024, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
