Brighton in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Lynching In America / The Lynching of William Miller
Community Remembrance Project
Photographed By Mark Hilton, January 28, 2017
1. Lynching In America Marker
Inscription.
Lynching In America, also, The Lynching of William Miller. Community Remembrance Project.
Lynching In America.. Thousands of black people were the victims of lynching and racial violence in the United States between 1877 and 1950. The lynching of African Americans during this era was a form of racial terrorism intended to intimidate black people and enforce racial hierarchy and segregation. Lynching was most prevalent in the South. After the Civil War, there was violent resistance to equal rights for African Americans and an ideology of white supremacy led to violent abuse of racial minorities and decades of political, social, and economic exploitation. 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. Many of the names of lynching victims were not recorded and will never be known, but over 300 documented lynchings took place in Alabama alone. Jefferson County had the highest number in Alabama (29) and the ninth highest total lynchings in the nation during the era of terror lynching.,
The Lynching of William Miller.. On this spot in August 1908, a group of white men took William Miller from his Brighton, Alabama jail cell in the middle of the night and lynched him in the woods nearby. Mr. Miller a black leader advocating for better labor conditions in the coal mines when he was arrested on false charges of violence. Coal mining in Alabama began with the use of slave labor in the 1840s. The industry boomed in the late 1800s as Birmingham became "The Magic City," but after slavery was abolished, coal companies’ success depended on the labor of black workers forced into bondage through convict leasing, a notorious scheme where tens of thousands of black people were arrested for trivial “offenses” and then “leased” to private companies who worked them mercilessly. In Jefferson County, leased convicts and poorly paid black miners posed a threat to white laborers seeking higher pay. and there were efforts to organize labor unions. Despite the workers’ common interests, the sight of formerly enslaved people challenging labor practices represented a threat to the existing racial hierarchy that many whites would not tolerate. Mr. Miller's lynching was an act of racial terror intended to discourage challenges to the existing racial order in Alabama's industrial and agricultural economies.
Lynching In America.
Thousands of black people were the victims of lynching and racial violence in the United States between 1877 and 1950. The lynching of African Americans during this era was a form of racial terrorism intended to intimidate black people and enforce racial hierarchy and segregation. Lynching was most prevalent in the South. After the Civil War, there was violent resistance to equal rights for African Americans and an ideology of white supremacy led to violent abuse of racial minorities and decades of political, social, and economic exploitation. 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. Many of the names of lynching victims were not recorded and will never be known, but over 300 documented lynchings took place in Alabama alone. Jefferson County had the highest number in Alabama (29) and the ninth highest total lynchings in the nation during the era of terror lynching.
The Lynching of William Miller.
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On this spot in August 1908, a group of white men took William Miller from his Brighton, Alabama jail cell in the middle of the night and lynched him in the woods nearby. Mr. Miller a black leader advocating for better labor conditions in the coal mines when he was arrested on false charges of violence. Coal mining in Alabama began with the use of slave labor in the 1840s. The industry boomed in the late 1800s as Birmingham became "The Magic City," but after slavery was abolished, coal companies’ success depended on the labor of black workers forced into bondage through convict leasing, a notorious scheme where tens of thousands of black people were arrested for trivial “offenses” and then “leased” to private companies who worked them mercilessly. In Jefferson County, leased convicts and poorly paid black miners posed a threat to white laborers seeking higher pay. and there were efforts to organize labor unions. Despite the workers’ common
interests, the sight of formerly enslaved people challenging labor practices represented a threat to the existing racial hierarchy that many whites would not tolerate. Mr. Miller's lynching was an act of racial terror intended to discourage challenges to the existing racial order in Alabama's industrial and agricultural economies.
Erected 2015 by the Equal Justice Initiative and the City of Brighton.
Location. 33° 25.808′ N, 86° 57.074′ W. Marker is in Brighton, Alabama, in Jefferson County. Marker is at the intersection of Woodward Street and Huntsville Avenue on Woodward Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3700 Huntsville Ave, Bessemer AL 35020, United States of America. Touch for directions.
. Equal Justice Initiative website entry (Submitted on January 31, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Photographed By Mark Hilton, January 28, 2017
4. View southeasterly towards Brighton City Hall.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, January 28, 2017
5. Brighton City Hall on Main Street at Woodward Street.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 6, 2024
6. The Lynching of William Miller 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 January 31, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,437 times since then and 134 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on January 31, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 6. submitted on April 6, 2024, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
