Boisey Long was accused of murdering a Florida police officer. Terrified, his friends banded together – they knew Long wouldn’t survive the night in jail.
Running through town towards the jail, they could already hear a lynch mob forming in the distance.
When the mob, primarily made up of police and legal officials, heard Long was rescued they stormed the town looking for him. Long escaped – his friends weren’t so lucky.
On August 19th, 1916, Andrew McHenry, Bert Dennis, John Haskins, Mary Dennis, James Dennis, and Stella Young were lynched for helping Long escape.
As they were brutally murdered, 1,000 miles away another lynching occurred – had Long been caught?
It wasn’t Long but another man, Edward Lang, falsely accused of raping a white woman. 7 lynchings in one day – once again, white supremacy played judge, jury, and executioner.
Ironically, America would soon enter World War I to fight in the name of “democracy and freedom.”
As we remember those lynched, we honor them by building strong communities. Long wouldn’t have escaped if it weren’t for his community saving him.
Like them, we must remember it is our responsibility to protect one another. Real talk, we might not all make it, but we will NEVER beat white supremacy on our own - do not fall into the trap of individualism.