Joe Smith was an African-American man who was lynched by a mob in Yazoo City, Mississippi, on July 7, 1927.[1]
The Decatur Daily reported that Joe Smith attempted to "attack" a "young white girl" on July 6, and when discovered by the father, used the girl as a shield to protect himself from the father's gun. Smith was captured and "spirited away" by a group of men after the girl had identified him; Sheriff W. T. Shirley and his deputies attempted to find him, but said he was likely to be lynched. Soon after, the bullet-riddled body was found hanging from a tree, some 17 miles (27 km) from Yazoo City.[2]
John R. Steelman, who wrote his PhD dissertation on "mob action in the South", listed Joe Smith as one of the cases, and phrased it thus: "Joe Smith is alleged to have 'attempted to attack a young white girl'. On July 7 his body, 'full of hot lead', was found hanging to the limb of a tree."[3]
References
edit- ^ "The Law's Too Slow". Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life. January 1928. p. 19. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ^ "Negro Is Spirited Away After An Attempted Attack". Decatur Daily. July 7, 1927. p. 1. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ^ Steelman, John R. (1928). A Study of Mob Action in the South (PhD). University of North Carolina. p. 268.
