Lynching Children
June 14, 1902
Summary
A mob, full of “savagery,” brutally lynches two boys.
Transcription
(Richmond Va. Daily Times. June 12th)
We are distressed to see that a mob at Salisbury, N.C., has lynched two negro boys. The youngest of the victims was only thirteen years of age, and he was made to climb a tree with a rope around his neck and jump to death. He was not even old enough to control his feelings, and broke down and cried just before the fatal leap was made. After the boys were hung, torches were applied to the'r feet to make sure that they were dead, and then the mob dispersed.
This is a horrible thing. In vain will it be pleaded that the boys committed a horrible crime. They were bad boys and they stoned a woman to death, but that was no excuse for the savagery of the mob. Things have come to a poor pass indeed when the mob wreaks its vengeance upon children.
The worst part of it all is that the whole South has to suffer for this sort of savagery. No wonder our enemies at the North seize upon such cases to say mean things about the Southern people. We cannot defend ourselves against such a shameful exhibition of mob violence as that at Salisbury.
We are distressed to see that a mob at Salisbury, N.C., has lynched two negro boys. The youngest of the victims was only thirteen years of age, and he was made to climb a tree with a rope around his neck and jump to death. He was not even old enough to control his feelings, and broke down and cried just before the fatal leap was made. After the boys were hung, torches were applied to the'r feet to make sure that they were dead, and then the mob dispersed.
This is a horrible thing. In vain will it be pleaded that the boys committed a horrible crime. They were bad boys and they stoned a woman to death, but that was no excuse for the savagery of the mob. Things have come to a poor pass indeed when the mob wreaks its vengeance upon children.
The worst part of it all is that the whole South has to suffer for this sort of savagery. No wonder our enemies at the North seize upon such cases to say mean things about the Southern people. We cannot defend ourselves against such a shameful exhibition of mob violence as that at Salisbury.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Upper Left Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Brooke Royer
Citation
“Lynching Children,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed December 7, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1064.