U.S. Senate apologizes for not passing anti-lynching legislation

Lynching also happened in Michigan as explored by author LeRoy Barnett in the latest HSM Chronicle

Monday, June 13, 2005

EAST LANSING, MI: The United States Senate is set to take up a resolution today expressing remorse for failing to pass anti-lynching legislation. Among the people expected to be on hand for the expected passage of the apology is Doria Dee Johnson, who lectures on lynching and is a descendant of a man killed by a white mob in South Carolina.

Seven presidents, from 1890 to 1952, pushed for Congress to put an end to the carnage. Despite nearly 200 anti-lynching bills presented in the Senate in the first half of the 20th century, each was stopped by filibusters. There were about 4,800 documented lynchings in the United State from 1882 until 1968.

Although the vast majority of these tragedies occurred in the South, lynching also took place in Michigan. A new article by retired archivist and Michigan historian LeRoy Barnett, in the latest issue of the Historical Society of Michigan's quarterly magazine the Chronicle, explores this dark aspect of Michigan's past. The latest issue of the Chronicle was mailed to Society members last week.

Barnett's article, Lynch Law in Michigan, features ground breaking research into the history of this heinous practice in the Great Lake State.

"Probably the last thing the word "lynch" brings to mind is an impression of Michiganians temporarily gone wild as they string up some real or alleged wrongdoing victim" commented Barnett, "Unfortunately, the unthinkable occurred more than once in our state's history, and the time has come to bravely confront this regrettable facet of our past."

Starting with lynchings in the pre-American period of what is now Michigan, Barnett explores executions at the end of a rope starting in 1763 when an Indian woman was put to death. He continues by looking at the horrible events which claimed a former Kentucky slave in 1866, two Canadian lumberjacks in 1881, and a painter named William Sullivan in 1883.

"The details of these attacks are hard to read about" remarked Larry Wagenaar, Executive Director of the Historical Society of Michigan. "We felt, however, that this sordid story needed to be told with much of its raw horror intact. It allows us to confront the terror and injustice that was perpetrated. It is hard to think that this practice happened anywhere in our country including right here in Michigan."

While the U.S. Senate apologizes today to Johnson and victim's descendants nationwide, a number of those families live in Michigan.

To learn more about Barnett's article, obtain a copy of the Chronicle, or become a member of the state's official historical society contact the Historical Society of Michigan at (517) 324-1828 or visit www.hsmichigan.org.