Tameka Bradley Hobbs
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813061047
- eISBN:
- 9780813051314
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813061047.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
The first in the series of lynchings examined in this text is that of Quincy resident Arthur C. Williams, a twenty-two-year-old black man. Williams was accused of robbery and the attempted rape of a ...
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The first in the series of lynchings examined in this text is that of Quincy resident Arthur C. Williams, a twenty-two-year-old black man. Williams was accused of robbery and the attempted rape of a twelve-year-old white girl in May of 1941, the details of which make the truth of the accusation highly improbable. After being arrested, would-be lynchers twice kidnapped Williams from the Quincy jail and attempted to kill him, only succeeding the second time. Two diverging courses of activity followed the aftermath of Arthur Williams's lynching. On the local level, the results of both a coroner's inquest and an investigation of the state attorney failed to identify any responsible party. However, Quincy was skewered in the national media by nationally syndicated columnist Westbrook Pegler. His comments, along with the angry reaction they inspired from white Floridians, demonstrated the increasing difficulty that perpetrators of racial violence would have in concealing their actions from national scrutiny, and given Adolf Hitler's rise to power, and connections to international battle between fascism and freedom.Less
The first in the series of lynchings examined in this text is that of Quincy resident Arthur C. Williams, a twenty-two-year-old black man. Williams was accused of robbery and the attempted rape of a twelve-year-old white girl in May of 1941, the details of which make the truth of the accusation highly improbable. After being arrested, would-be lynchers twice kidnapped Williams from the Quincy jail and attempted to kill him, only succeeding the second time. Two diverging courses of activity followed the aftermath of Arthur Williams's lynching. On the local level, the results of both a coroner's inquest and an investigation of the state attorney failed to identify any responsible party. However, Quincy was skewered in the national media by nationally syndicated columnist Westbrook Pegler. His comments, along with the angry reaction they inspired from white Floridians, demonstrated the increasing difficulty that perpetrators of racial violence would have in concealing their actions from national scrutiny, and given Adolf Hitler's rise to power, and connections to international battle between fascism and freedom.
Tameka Bradley Hobbs
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813061047
- eISBN:
- 9780813051314
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813061047.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
When most people think of lynching and racial violence in the South, the Sunshine State does not immediately come to mind. While many consider Florida to be less “southern” than, say, Georgia or ...
More
When most people think of lynching and racial violence in the South, the Sunshine State does not immediately come to mind. While many consider Florida to be less “southern” than, say, Georgia or Mississippi, when examined in proportion to its African American residents, the state experienced more racial violence than any state in the nation. This historical study examines four lynchings that took place in Florida during the era of World War II-the lynching of Arthur C. Williams in Gadsden County in 1941; Cellos Harrison in Jackson County in 1943; Willie James Howard in Suwannee County in 1944; and Jesse James Payne in Madison County in 1945-and the response to them. As America's involvement in the global war deepened and the rhetoric against the Axis powers heightened, the nation's leaders and citizens became increasingly aware of the blemish that extralegal violence left on the reputation of American democracy. This placed increasing pressure on Florida state public officials-especially Governors Spessard Holland and Millard Caldwell-to do more to end lynching and protect the civil rights of African Americans in Florida.Less
When most people think of lynching and racial violence in the South, the Sunshine State does not immediately come to mind. While many consider Florida to be less “southern” than, say, Georgia or Mississippi, when examined in proportion to its African American residents, the state experienced more racial violence than any state in the nation. This historical study examines four lynchings that took place in Florida during the era of World War II-the lynching of Arthur C. Williams in Gadsden County in 1941; Cellos Harrison in Jackson County in 1943; Willie James Howard in Suwannee County in 1944; and Jesse James Payne in Madison County in 1945-and the response to them. As America's involvement in the global war deepened and the rhetoric against the Axis powers heightened, the nation's leaders and citizens became increasingly aware of the blemish that extralegal violence left on the reputation of American democracy. This placed increasing pressure on Florida state public officials-especially Governors Spessard Holland and Millard Caldwell-to do more to end lynching and protect the civil rights of African Americans in Florida.
