Lynching Cases - Maryland, 1926-1927, 1933, 1940-1942
Scope and Contents
Includes an undated article by AFRO reporter Ralph Matthews, Sr. on the 1894 Navassa Island case in which Isaac Kemp was lynched in Somerset County. File also incudes clippings on the attempted lynchings of Edward Jett (Baltimore, 1926), and Andrew Holland (Annapolis, 1929), photographs and clippings reporting on the attempted lynching of Arthur Collick and George Selby (Snow Hill, 1940), and reporting on the attemed lynchings of Gus White (Prince Frederick, 1942) and Otis Simmons and Arthur Swann (La Plata, 1927).
Dates
- Creation: 1926-1927
- Creation: 1933
- Creation: 1940-1942
Document Types
Clippings, Photographs
Condition Note
Some clippings are fragmented and in extremely fragile condition.
Arrangement
Arrangement is geographical; when multiple items referring to a single individual exist, a separate folder has been created with their name and the location in the folder title.
Processing Information
Lynching files have been processed using detailed processing procedures. All the information in the finding aid has been verified against folder content, dates and document types have been added, and more detailed arrangement and description work has been performed.
In files on lynching cases, names of victims are listed in the scope and content note for that folder, along with the locality and year of the incident. Unnamed victims are listed with location and date, and victims of attempted lynchings are also listed when named. When many documents are found for a specific victim, they are arranged in a separate folder with the victim's name in the folder title. Content warnings have been added to folder records where photographs of lynching victims are filed, or clippings with particularly graphic headlines, and such items are encapsulated within the main folders to allow researchers to choose whether or not to engage with this content.
The lynching legislation files appear to have been originally compiled around 1941, when correspondence is found between an AFRO librarian and a Congressional Research Service librarian. A 1939 report created by the Congressional Research Service is found, which may serve as an index to the content of these files.
Original Location
TN0606, TUB 105
Repository Details
Part of the AFRO American Newspapers Archives Repository