1930 MARION INDIANA LYNCHING PHOTO & BOOK OF THE SURVIVOR'S STORY
Item #: CWB9851
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AUTHENTIC PHOTO AND BOOK FROM SURVIVOR, JAMES CAMERON
On a sweltering August night in 1930, two older boys invited sixteen-year-old Jimmie Cameron for what they said would be a joyride. Instead, they held up a young white couple parked in a remote Lover’s Lane. The stickup went horribly wrong. The boys were arrested, dragged from jail by a mob, and lynched on the courthouse lawn before thousands of spectators. Miraculously, Cameron lived to tell the story.
COMES WITH NEWSPAPER ARTICLE THAT WAS FOUND IN THE BOOK
On a hot August night in 1930 a crowd gathered in front of an Indiana jail — men, women, and children shouting and jeering, demanding that the sheriff release his three prisoners. Three African-American teenagers: Tom Shipp, Abe Smith, and James Cameron — huddled inside their cells, charged with the murder of a white man and the rape of white woman.
Some among the thousands of people in front of the jail formed a mob. They beat down the jail doors, pulled the three youths from their cells, brutally beat them, and dragged them to a tree on the courthouse square. At the last minute the mob spared Cameron, the youngest and most boyish of the trio. Smith and Shipp died, lynch ropes around their necks, their bodies hanging as the town photographer captured one of the most famous lynching photographs in American history. They weren’t even hung properly. They had a noose put around their neck and were then pulled up into the tree. And one of them tried to get free so they hauled him down, broke his arms and hauled him back up again.The corpses hung in the square for hours, attracting crowds of gawkers — including the photographer Lawrence Beitler who was able to snap this picture. The photo sold thousands of copies, which Beitler stayed up for 10 days and nights printing them.
The third person 16-year-old James Cameron, narrowly escaped lynching thanks to an unidentified participant who announced that he had nothing to do with the rape or murder. Cameron was moved out of town, convicted as an accessory to the murder and served four years in jail. After the lynching, Cameron became a very devout man and vividly describes this day in his autobiographical account "A Time of Terror”. He became an anti-lynching activist in Indiana and, later, Wisconsin — where he founded a Black Holocaust Museum. He believed that the voice that came from the crowd to save him was the voice of an angel. Cameron died on June 11, 2006, at the age of 92.Were they guilty? James Cameron stated in interviews that Shipp and Smith had, in fact, shot and killed Claude Deeter, a white man. Cameron claimed that he fled when he realized what was going on. So the guys are guilty of murder. The rape allegation — although it, and not the homicide, seems to have been the thing that triggered the lynching — was subsequently withdrawn. Mary Ball later testified that she had not been raped, contrary to the accusations against the three men. Back then, white women being raped by black men was worse than murder in the eyes of many.
On a sweltering August night in 1930, two older boys invited sixteen-year-old Jimmie Cameron for what they said would be a joyride. Instead, they held up a young white couple parked in a remote Lover’s Lane. The stickup went horribly wrong. The boys were arrested, dragged from jail by a mob, and lynched on the courthouse lawn before thousands of spectators. Miraculously, Cameron lived to tell the story.
COMES WITH NEWSPAPER ARTICLE THAT WAS FOUND IN THE BOOK
On a hot August night in 1930 a crowd gathered in front of an Indiana jail — men, women, and children shouting and jeering, demanding that the sheriff release his three prisoners. Three African-American teenagers: Tom Shipp, Abe Smith, and James Cameron — huddled inside their cells, charged with the murder of a white man and the rape of white woman.
Some among the thousands of people in front of the jail formed a mob. They beat down the jail doors, pulled the three youths from their cells, brutally beat them, and dragged them to a tree on the courthouse square. At the last minute the mob spared Cameron, the youngest and most boyish of the trio. Smith and Shipp died, lynch ropes around their necks, their bodies hanging as the town photographer captured one of the most famous lynching photographs in American history. They weren’t even hung properly. They had a noose put around their neck and were then pulled up into the tree. And one of them tried to get free so they hauled him down, broke his arms and hauled him back up again.The corpses hung in the square for hours, attracting crowds of gawkers — including the photographer Lawrence Beitler who was able to snap this picture. The photo sold thousands of copies, which Beitler stayed up for 10 days and nights printing them.
The third person 16-year-old James Cameron, narrowly escaped lynching thanks to an unidentified participant who announced that he had nothing to do with the rape or murder. Cameron was moved out of town, convicted as an accessory to the murder and served four years in jail. After the lynching, Cameron became a very devout man and vividly describes this day in his autobiographical account "A Time of Terror”. He became an anti-lynching activist in Indiana and, later, Wisconsin — where he founded a Black Holocaust Museum. He believed that the voice that came from the crowd to save him was the voice of an angel. Cameron died on June 11, 2006, at the age of 92.Were they guilty? James Cameron stated in interviews that Shipp and Smith had, in fact, shot and killed Claude Deeter, a white man. Cameron claimed that he fled when he realized what was going on. So the guys are guilty of murder. The rape allegation — although it, and not the homicide, seems to have been the thing that triggered the lynching — was subsequently withdrawn. Mary Ball later testified that she had not been raped, contrary to the accusations against the three men. Back then, white women being raped by black men was worse than murder in the eyes of many.
Shipping Weight:
1 lb
Item # CWB9851
$600.00 USD