On October 29, 1932, the Chicago Defender condemned Mississippi and its ugly practice of lynching as "the most brutal community in history." Mobs worked outside the law, capturing, torturing, and killing hundreds of Black people. From 1877 to 1950, Mississippi accounted for 600 lynchings, nearly 12 percent of 3,959 Black men and women lynching nationwide, though many more went unreported.
Section 12 of the 1890 Constitution lists the qualifications that Mississippians had to meet in order to vote. Most Black voters were disqualified because they could not pay the two-dollar poll tax, did not own property, and were at the discretion of county registrars to decide whether they passed a literacy test.
Voter rights were the main point of contention for the delegates at the 1868 and 1890 constitutional conventions. Arguments about who could vote stemmed from Mississippi’s refusal to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. The Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed the right to vote to Black men, but the 1890 Constitution’s requirements to qualify made it nearly impossible to exercise their right.
In August 1890, a constitutional convention was held to write a new state constitution. Delegates sought to disenfranchise Black Mississippians without violating federal law. The "Understanding Clause"—reading and interpreting a section of the constitution—was the most effective tactic of several new qualifications. Black Mississippians were disproportionately disqualified because of the clause and would not play a significant role in elections until 1967.