No One Punished

Five black people were lynched near Greenville, Alabama, but authorities would not take any action on the case; the Planet calls for all black people to keep a weapon to protect themselves.

Five colored people were lynched near Greenville, Alabama. April 20, 1895. This was done contrary to law and in violation of the guarantees of the constitution of Alabama, and the constitution of the United States.
No information has as yet reached us that any effort has been or will be made to punish the perpetrators of this heinous murder.
All is quiet and with the advent of a few months comes forgetfulness upon the part of the country at large. How long will Americans of African decent submit?
There is no need for “hot-headedness.” It is a condition which requires careful consideration and judicious treatment. The law fails to protect us and in the face of murder, rapine and arson as perpetrated against us, the officers of the law become as inanimate as though they had been turned to stone.
There is but one way to remedy the evil. American citizens of African decent must make an individual defense.
When lynchers come, the shotgun, the rifle, the old sabre, the sharpened axe, in fact anything handy must be brought into play, and every man should consider it his duty to see to it that at least one lyncher is left cold and stiff upon the ground before he yields up his life in accordance with the mobs.
When this is done, there will be fewer lynching and the practice will finally fall into disuse. We advise this policy in all cases be the lynchers, white or black.
Regardless of the most or the sacrifice, lynch-law must go!

“No One Punished,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed February 19, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1403.