Lynching of Alex Smith

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Lynching of Alex Smith
Part of Jim Crow Era
Lynching of Alex Smith in Gulfport 1922.jpg
News coverage of the Lynching of Alex Smith in Gulfport, 1922
DateMarch 22, 1922
Location Gulfport, 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]

Contents

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

Bibliography

Notes

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

References