The events following the death last month of George Floyd in Minneapolis show just how much race still matters in our country and in our community.
The creation of the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial at the site of the lynching in Duluth was meant to help us all remember and reflect on not just the lynchings but how we can do better to advance the cause of racial and social justice.
It is unfortunate that the ongoing pandemic restrictions forced the cancellation or postponement of a series of community events commemorating the centennial of the tragic events of June 15, 1920, at a time when addressing these issues is so badly needed.
The story of the lynchings is terrible. Most of the evidence suggests that the three men were wrongly accused. Unfounded rumors circulated about the allegations, which were reported in the morning newspaper. As the collective anger in some neighborhoods grew, the mob formed and took on a life of its own. By the time the crowd reached downtown, several thousand residents of the city were involved.
There were some instances of courage in the midst of these tragic events. Several police officers battled the crowd for hours in an effort to protect the men, even though they had been ordered not to use firearms against the crowd. Two judges, who happened to be eating downtown when the mob arrived, went to the scene and tried to de-escalate the situation by pleading with the crowd to let the criminal justice system handle the allegations. Even a couple members of the mob managed to protect three other circus workers who also were being held at the jail.
But in the end, the mob would not be stopped from brutally taking the lives of Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie at the corner of First Street and Second Avenue East.
The aftermath of the lynchings was not much better and reflected poorly on the criminal justice system. Although a grand jury issued 37 indictments, only three men were convicted of riot and served less than 15 months in prison. No one was ever tried or convicted for murdering the three men. Worse, even though the evidence against the circus workers was highly questionable, two other men were tried for rape, and one, Max Mason, was eventually convicted and spent four years in prison before being released on the condition that he leave the state.
For many years afterward, the events of June 15, 1920, were seldom talked about in Duluth.
In the century since this tragedy, there obviously has been some progress on the issue of race. Minnesota passed anti-lynching legislation in response to what happened in Duluth, and no other lynchings have occurred in the state. Brown v. Board of Education integrated public schools. The Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act were significant legislative achievements in the 1960s. In 2008, our country elected an African-American president.
Yet we clearly have a very, very long way to go.
This responsibility falls to all of us. The issue of race is not going away. Some of the conversations in the coming weeks are going to be difficult, but we all need to listen to each other, talk to each other, and try to understand each other. That is the only way we can bring about real change.
Dale Harris is a 6th Judicial District judge in the St. Louis County Courthouse in Duluth.
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A Judge's View: Race remains difficult, even 100 years after unspeakable tragedy - Duluth News Tribune
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