Top 5 U.S. states with the most lynchings of black people from the 1880s

Mississippi

Lynchings occurred more in Mississippi than in any other state. During the 100 years after the Civil War, almost one in every ten lynchings in the U.S. took place in Mississippi, according to Julius E. Thompson in his book “Lynchings in Mississippi: A History, 1865-1965”. Until the 1940′s, hanging, or the gallows, was the method of execution in Mississippi. State lawmakers subsequently replaced it with the electric chair. From 1882 to 1968, there were 581 lynchings in Mississippi, the highest number of any state, according to the NAACP. Just like other Southern states, these murders were carried out largely by white mobs against black victims.

The most well-known lynching in Mississippi was that of Emmett Till. The 14-year-old was killed in 1955, following a rumour that he flirted with a white woman. The senseless killing set the growing Civil Rights Movement into motion and a rallying cry was heard nationwide. Earlier, in October 1942, Charlie Lang and Ernest Green, two 14-year-old boys, were also lynched in Shubuta, Mississippi, after a white girl accused them of attempted rape.