The term lynching applies to anyone taken outside the law and killed by a mob. From 1877 to 1950, Mississippi ranked first in nearly every category—most lynchings, most multiple lynchings, most per capita, most female victims, most victims taken from police custody, most lynchings without arrest or conviction of mob leaders, and most public support for vigilantism.
Pictured: A black and white advertisement. On the left is a pen sketch of a lynching. The figure appears to have been hung by the neck with their hands tied behind their back. To the right of the sketch are two boxes. The top box has text that reads: “A Terrible Blot on American Civilization,” with a black blot underneath. In the second box is the text: “3,424 Lynchings in 33 Years,” followed by news of the 1922 Anti-Lynching Bill’s status in Congress in small, typed text. Below this is the heading: “Congressmen who voted against the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill,” with five columns of names.
Credit: Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, rbpe20803600
