Typically when you think about lynchings, you think about the deep south and how historically it was known for hanging from the highest tree they could find, disrespectful black folks. However, during the Red Summer of 1919, there were numerous incidents of violence and rioting in major cities all across the United States, including Chicago, Washington D.C., Omaha, Nebraska, and believe it or not Duluth, Minnesota. Now Minnesota is like on the opposite side of the country from the South. It’s about as far as you can get from places like Mississippi, Alabama, and “By Gawd”, Georgia. Seeing a lynching in Minnesota was like seeing the Grand Dragon of the Klu Klux Klan on a cruise ship to Africa. Nonetheless, on June 15, 1920, one of the most brutal episodes of racial violence ever committed in the name of white supremacy happened there to three African Americans named Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie. It is a testament as to why it is so vitally important to make sure “Mr. Ugly” is locked and loaded at all times.
A First Time For Everything
So I mentioned the Red Summer and told you it was a period of racial violence. It occurred between the summer and fall of 1919. I was under the impression that I had already written an article on the Red Summer, which was the most extensive period of targeted racial violence against African Americans in the past 105 years, but I haven’t been able to locate one. We will circle back to it soon. Anyway, the Red Summer coincided with the end of World War I and the Great Migration. The Great Migration was a period when a lot of black folks left the South because staying was the same as having a daily colon examination… at least for some. The others left for economic reasons. They moved to the industrialized cities of the North where companies like U.S. Steel, Ford, and others were hiring blacks. One such city was Duluth, Minnesota. Duluth was an industrial city that had been growing rapidly from the early part of the 1900s. It not only attracted blacks but immigrants also. By 1920, a third of its population of 100,000 was foreign-born, with immigrants coming from Scandinavia, Germany, Poland, Italy, Austria-Hungary, and the Russian Empire. Now the black population wasn’t as large as the immigrant population, numbering a little less than 500 people. I figured there wasn’t going to be a huge population of black folks there. I mean Minnesota is colder than a (fill in the word.) I had to put on my coat just typing this article about that place… Anywho, with all those immigrants and anti-slavery northerners you might think that lynching wasn’t something that they were all that familiar with. Nope. As a matter of fact, in 1918 they lynched a white man named Olof Kinkkonen. Olof had renounced his American citizenship because he wanted to avoid being drafted into the service during WWI. His lifeless body was found tarred and feathered, hanging from a tree. So Ima tell you something right now, the next thing that happened came straight out of “Nigra’s That Violate” Vol I, page 6.” The authorities did not pursue murder charges because they said he committed suicide at the shame of being tarred and feathered. You don’t have to worry about me going up there… If they were doing that shat then, imagine what they’re doing now.
Detective: “Sarge here is the report about that darkie we found yesterday…”
Supervisor: “Thanks, Bo… That’s the one that was celebrating Donald’s indictment right?… let me see here… It says when you found him he had on swimming trunks. Wasn’t it 25 degrees below zero yesterday?”
Detective: “We think it was his swimming trunks… but it could have been his drawers…”
Supervisor: “Hmm.. and what about this part that says he got up into a tree to escape the lions and lost his footing? What lions?”
Detective: “Well you know darkies come from Africa and they got them lions over there… The best we could tell was he thought he was being chased by one. So he took off his clothes, threw a rope into the tree, and climbed up there… when he tried to swing away, that’s when he lost his footing and somehow the rope got caught around his neck…”
Supervisor: “I see… It says here someone put up a cross… and some vandals burned it!!? What is the world coming to…
Detective: Yes sir, there was a burned cross about 20ft away from him… We got some men looking into it now…
Supervisor: Okay I’m going to mark this as an accidental death… and Bill… make sure you put it into the report we were on a fishing trip when it happened… you know… in case those civil rights boys come snooping around…
Cop: “Sure thing boss…”
Hell no… I ain’t going up there… So anyway during the Great Migration, some black folks went to Duluth, and the immigrants and ethnic whites viewed them as being competitors for jobs. In addition, the situation was compounded by the fact that World War I had recently ended, and numerous veterans were also re-entering the labor force.
Somebody Gotta Die…
The congruence of these facts resulted in a perfect storm when on June 14, 1920, the John Robinson Circus arrived in Duluth for a free parade and a one-night performance. As it so happened a couple of white teens named Irene Tusken, age 19, and James “Jimmie” Sullivan, 18, met at the circus for what I think was a booty call. After the circus began to shut down, they snuck behind the big top and told the authorities they were watching the black workers dismantle the menagerie tent and load the wagons. Yeah right… and I’m the Great and Powerful Golden Pubah of the Confederate Knights of the Klu Klux Klan in Tar Baby, Alabama… What happened was ya’ll got caught, some black man saw you and told everybody else… now ya’ll feeling some kinda way. However, history says, “it is unclear what took place between Tusken, Sullivan, and the workers,” only that later that night the pair claimed that a group of African Americans employed by the circus had held Sullivan at gunpoint and “RAPED” Tusken! HOT DIGGITY DOG!! RAPED TUSKEN!! SOMEBODY GONNA DIE!!
The next morning Police Chief John Murphy received a call from Sullivan’s father saying that some out-of-town Nigras had lost their mofokn minds and had “RAPED” a white woman and robbed his son. Chief Murphy told Sullivan to bring his son and Irene to the tracks. Once they got there, he lined up all the black workers, about 150 of them, and told the pair to identify their attackers. They arrested six black men as suspects in connection with the rape and robbery and took them to the city jail. The rest were told to pull their pants back up, “We will get ya’ll next time…” I’m kidding… Now Sullivan’s claim about the rape was questioned… When Irene was examined by her physician, Dr. David Graham that morning, he found no physical evidence of rape or assault. Still, the newspapers had printed articles about the alleged rape and rumors spread in the white community, including that she was dying from her injuries. That evening, a mob of thousands protested outside the jail. Officially they said the crowd was between 1000 and 10,000 people. Shat started to get real. The mob used heavy timbers, bricks, and rails to break down doors and windows. The public safety commissioner told the police not to use their guns. The mob seized three of the prisoners, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie, took them outside, and held a kangaroo court… Yep, they put them on trial right out there in front of the jail. Although there is no historical documentation concerning how the trial was conducted, we can imagine it went down something like this:
Instigator: “Line them nigras up by gawd!!” Sullivan, are these the ones that attacked you and violated a “WHITE WOMAN”?!!
Sullivan: “I think… they are the …”
Instigator: YOU HEARD HIM BOYS!! HE THINKS THEY WERE GOING TO RAPE THE MAYOR’S WIFE TOO!! ARE WE GONNA LET THESE NIGRAS COME HERE AND RAPE OUR WOMEN AND THE MAYOR’S WIFE TOO?!! BRING THAT NIGRA UP HERE!! WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO SAY FOR YOURSELF BOY?!!
Instigator #2: “I think he’s unconscious…”
Instigator: WELL THERE YOU HAVE IT!! HE DOESN’T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY FOR HIMSELF!! WELL, I GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!! GUILTY!! WHAT SAY YOU!!
Crowd: GUILTY!! GUILTY!! GUILTY!!
The mob took the three men one block from the jail, where they were beaten again and hanged from a light pole.
I Got You
The next day the Minnesota Guard was called in to protect the other three black men and to secure the peace. By the way, remember when they lined up the folks so that they could be identified and I joked that they told them, “we’ll get the rest of ya’ll later”? I was joking and but they wasn’t… They went back and arrested ten additional black suspects from the circus at its next stop. However, those 10 suspects and the other three suspects that the mob did not get were transferred to the larger more secure facility at the St. Louis, County jail, where they wish a mofo would. After all, Minnesota is still in the North and they had a reputation to uphold. Two days later the real trial took place on June 17th, presided over by Judge William “I Let My Nigras Call Me By My First Name” Cant. With the crowd numbering in the thousands and all those eyes on the hapless black men, well naturally nobody could say who the ringleaders were… naturally. Even so, the grand jury indicted thirty-seven men. Twenty-five for rioting and twelve for “murder in the first degree?” I didn’t even have to do anymore more research to know that was some bullshat. Some of the men were indicted on both charges. In the end, Louis Dondino, Carl Hammerberg, and Gilbert Stephenson were convicted of rioting. They spent a little bit over a year in prison, probably for tearing up the jail. Judge: “You know all ya’ll had to do was ask for us to hand the nigras over… ” Anywho, no one was ever convicted for the murders. As for the three black men they didn’t get, and the other ten they rounded up for the rape, well the prosecution went ahead and ordered ropes and scaffolding. Although there was no evidence, seven of the thirteen remaining men were indicted for rape. Judge: Now nigras.. this ain’t personal, but a white woman has accused you of rape. It doesn’t matter if you did it or not… somebody gotta die…” So then the NAACP jumped into the fray and basically said, ” somebody has already died.” They protested to the city about the lynchings and hired defense attorneys. Five of the seven men’s charges were dismissed. Two men, Max Mason, and William Miller were tried for rape. Judge: “Somebody flip a coin…” Miller was acquitted, but Mason was convicted and sentenced to serve 30 hard as faque years in prison!
Judge: “Now nigra… you know I got you for raping a white woman. I’m gonna put you in jail with a lot of big strong muscular white men with bald heads, long beards, and tattoos of nigras hanging from trees on they large biceps. Ima give you 30 hard as faque years in the federal penitentiary in Booty Down, Mississippi, where the only other nigra you gonna see is a face on an advertisement for a funeral home. May gawd have mercy on your soul… Officer Longtoes, take the nigra away!”
Okay… okay…. it didn’t go down exactly like that… Mason was not sent to Booty Down. As a matter of fact, he didn’t do 37 years. He was sent to Still Water State Penitentiary and served 4 years before being released on the condition that he leave the state.
June 15, 1921
In 1921, William T. Francais, a black lawyer, and his wife helped passed anti-lynching legislation in Minnesota. The law provided monetary compensation to the relatives of people who were harmed while under the protection of the police. It also provided for the suspension of any police officer involved with not protecting the civil rights of their charges. There hasn’t been a lynching in Minnesota since the Duluth Lynching. However, in 1984, the anti-lynching bill was repealed. Minnesota does have a hate crime law that works in conjunction with the 1968 Civil Rights Act. We can all be sure that the four Negros that live in Minnesota will be fine… A plaza and statues were dedicated in Duluth on October 10, 2003, to honor the three men who lost their lives. The memorial, which includes bronze statues, is located across the street from where the lynchings occurred. Facsimile ropes can be purchased at the gift shop for… okay.. let me stop that shat…
On the 100-year anniversary of the lynching, the governor of Minnesota issued a proclamation claiming June 15th, as Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie Commemoration Day…
“The foundational principles of our State and Nation were horrifically and inexcusably violated on June 15, 1920, when Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie, three Black men, were wrongfully accused of a crime”, and “We must not allow such communal atrocities to happen again. Everyone must be aware of this tragic history.” Tim Walz, Governor Of Minnesota.
Oh yeah… remember Irene Tusken, the woman who said she was raped by Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie? Well… Irene Tusken’s great-nephew is the chief of the Duluth Police Department.
Thanks for reading ©Hill1News
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