Two young couples had been employed by a white man for his farm in 1946, George Dorsey, a World War II veteran, and his wife Mae, who was seven months pregnant, and Roger Malcom and his wife Dorothy. Malcom had been accused of stabbing a white man. On July 25th, their employer drove with the other three to the courthouse to pay Malcom's bail. Shortly after, a group of white man decided they would take justice into their own hands. When the car containing all five approached a bridge at Moore's Ford, they were met by a mob of fifteen to twenty men. They took the men from the car, and when the women tried to identify the men in the crowd, they pulled the women from the car as well. All four were tied to a tree, then shot. The coroner's report counted at least 60 rounds used overall. After she was killed, Mae's unborn child was cut from her as well. The lynching received national attention and outrage. There were demonstrations outside the White House calling for the end of lynching. Despite an intensive investigation, the impaneling of a grand jury, hours of testimony, and even one person indicted on perjury charges, none of those guilty were ultimately discovered. No one has ever been indicted in this case. In March of this year, a court determined that all grand jury testimony should forever remain sealed.
Sources:
- Wikipedia: Moore's Ford Lynchings
- CBS: Activists Hope Court Ruling About Lynchings at Moore's Ford Bridge will Bring "Healing"
- CNN: Court orders secret transcripts released in 1946 case
- Moore's Ford Lynching
- The Moore's Ford Lynching
There have been too many cases of Black people being killed because white people were offended, or "scared." As we can see by Ahmaud Arbery. If it hasn't stopped yet, obviously, there is a deeper issue here that needs to be dealt with. It is the attitude that Black lives are worth less than white ones. As the next post will show.
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