Strange Fruit: The History and Legacy of Lynching in America
"Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees..."
— Billie Holiday, "Strange Fruit"
The haunting lyrics of Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit are a painful reminder of one of the darkest stains in American history—lynching. This was not just an act of racial terror; it was a spectacle, an event, a message written in the blood of Black men, women, and children to reinforce white supremacy and systemic oppression. Between the end of Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement, thousands of African Americans were brutally murdered in public executions that were sanctioned by silence and even celebrated by communities.
A Century of Lynchings
According to the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), over 4,400 documented lynchings of Black Americans occurred in the United States between 1877 and 1950—and that number does not account for those whose names and stories have been lost to time. These acts of racial terrorism were often carried out with impunity, serving as grotesque public spectacles meant to instill fear in the Black community.
One of the most horrifying examples of this occurred in Ellisville, Mississippi, in 1919—the lynching of John Hartfield. His murder was publicized in newspapers as an event, an attraction, a gathering attracting 10,000 people, akin to a carnival or rock concert. A headline in the Jackson Daily News read, “John Hartfield Will Be Lynched by Ellisville Mob at 5:00 This Afternoon.” Thousands gathered to watch as he was tortured and murdered, and no one was ever held accountable.
The Unsung Hero: A Witness Who Refused to Forget
The PBS documentary 100 Years from Mississippi (learn more here) tells the story of Mamie Lang Kirkland, an unsung hero who carried the memories of these atrocities through time. As a survivor of racial terror, she bore witness to what many have tried to forget or erase. Her courage to recount what she lived through and the stories she carried ensure that history does not repeat itself in silence.
Mamie Lang Kirkland with her son, Tarabu Betserai Kirkland
In the 1940s, Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown’s brother, Clarence Warren Brown, was brutally beaten and almost killed by two policemen because he was walking through a neighborhood after having studied his lessons with his schoolmate at a segregated high school. Clarence Brown’s life changed forever that day. Terrified, he exited Mississippi to relocate with distant Brown relatives in Detroit, Michigan. Clarence Brown, like Ms. Kirkland, did not go back to Mississippi for the majority of his life, only returning for his father’s funeral in 1964.
The Long Fight to End Lynching
For more than a century, the NAACP and civil rights activists fought to criminalize lynching under federal law. Anti-lynching legislation was first introduced in Congress in 1918, by Senator Leonidas C. Dyer, of St. Louis, Missouri. The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was first introduced in the 65th United States Congress in order "to protect citizens of the United States against lynching in default of protection by the States." It was intended to establish lynching as a federal crime. The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was re-introduced in subsequent sessions of United States Congress and passed, 230 to 119, by the House of Representatives on January 26, 1922, but it failed repeatedly due to opposition from Southern lawmakers. In 2005, the U.S. Senate issued a formal apology for failing to pass anti-lynching legislation. Yet, it was not until 2022—under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris—that the Emmett Till Antilynching Act was signed into law, finally designating lynching as a federal hate crime. The NAACP has chronicled this long fight here.
What Comes Next? Healing a Nation’s Deep Wound
Though lynching as a physical act has largely been abolished, its legacy lives on in mass incarceration, police brutality, voter suppression, and systemic economic inequality. Moving forward as a nation requires acknowledgment, education, and justice.
As we reflect on this history, we must ask: How do we, as African Americans and as a nation, reckon with this past? How do we move forward without forgetting?
We must continue to educate our communities about the realities of racial terror and its enduring impact.
We must demand justice and accountability in modern racial violence cases.
We must support policies and leaders who are committed to racial equity and dismantling systemic oppression.
We must hold onto faith that justice will continue to prevail, as it did with the passage of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act.
Our Call to Action
The Bible tells us, “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.” (Psalm 82:3). As a church, as a people, and as a nation, we must stand against the injustices that have scarred our past and remain vigilant in our fight for a future where everybody’s humanity is respected and all of God’s children are free.
We remember. We bear witness. We fight for justice. We continue fighting for justice.
Third Baptist Church