Lynching of Alex Smith

For other people named Alex Smith, see Alex Smith (disambiguation).
Lynching of Alex Smith
Part of Jim Crow Era
News coverage of the Lynching of Alex Smith in Gulfport, 1922
DateMarch 22, 1922
LocationGulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi
ParticipantsSuspected members of the Klan

Alex Smith was a 60-year-old African-American man who was lynched in Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi by unknown attackers on March 22, 1922. According to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary it was the 19th of 61 lynchings during 1922 in the United States. [1]

Background

Alex or Alexander Smith, from the Bayou Bernard bridge area, allegedly ran "a house of ill fame" that was raided early 1922 on the fringes of Gulfport.[2] News reports at the time state that inside, "white girls and young white men" were found.[3] He was released and under bond to appear for his trial.

Lynching

Smith was seized and the coroner's report stated that he “came to his death by strangulation and pistol wounds at the hands of unknown persons” on March 22, 1922. His body was found hanging from a bridge with multiple bullet wounds. [2] [4] [3] Newspapers at the time stated that the Ku Klux Klan was rumored to have had a "party" to execute Smith.[3]

See also

  • Will Bell was lynched on January 29, 1922, in Pontotoc, Mississippi.
  • Will Thrasher was lynched on February 1, 1922, in Crystal Springs, Mississippi.
  • William Baker was lynched on March 8, 1922, in Aberdeen, Mississippi.
  • Robert Collins was lynched on June 20, 1922, Summit, Mississippi.
  • John Steelman was lynched on August 23, 1922, in Lambert, Mississippi.

Bibliography

Notes

  1. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary 1926, p. 17.
  2. ^ a b The Log Cabin Democrat, March 22, 1922, p. 1.
  3. ^ a b c The Sea Coast Echo, April 1, 1922, p. 2.
  4. ^ The Washington Times, March 23, 1922, p. 22.

References

  • "Black, trafficer in vice, lynched". The Log Cabin Democrat. Conway, Faulkner, Arkansas: Conway Print. Co. March 22, 1922. pp. 1–4. ISSN 2692-9090. OCLC 12956845. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  • "Klan suspected in execution of Negro". The Sea Coast Echo. Bay Saint Louis, Hancock, Mississippi: Charles G. Moreau. April 1, 1922. pp. 1–4. ISSN 2576-7976. OCLC 14470132. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  • United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (1926). "To Prevent and Punish the Crime of Lynching: Hearings Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on S. 121, Sixty-Ninth Congress, First Session, on Feb. 16, 1926". United States Government Publishing Office. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  • "Aged Negro is lynched". The Washington Times. Washington, District of Columbia: William Randolph Hearst. March 23, 1922. pp. 1–24. ISSN 1941-0697. OCLC 10630160. Retrieved February 17, 2022.