The lynching of Fred Alexander was committed by a mob in Leavenworth, Kansas on January 15, 1901, after he was arrested for rape and murder. He was killed when he was burned alive while tied to a metal rail. The Democratic Party-allied newspaper had been fomenting fear of African Americans as libidinous sexual predators. Results of official investigations disputed whether there was a rape and only circumstantial evidence was used to blame him for the alleged crime. The lynching and its aftermath were widely covered in newspapers.
Alexander was a veteran of the Spanish–American War. He was accused of the rape and murder of 19-year-old Pearl Forbes. He was castrated during the lynching.
See also
References
- Lovett, Christopher C. (2010). "A Public Burning: Race, Sex, and the Lynching of Fred Alexander" (PDF). Kansas History. 33 (2): 94–115.
- "Negro Burned at the Stake by a Mob at Leavenworth, Kansas". Los Angeles Herald. January 16, 1901. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
- "NEGRO DIES AT THE STAKE; Fred Alexander Dragged from Leavenworth Jail by a Mob. Then Taken to the Scene of the Murder of Pearl Forbes and Burned to Death -- Protests His Innocence to the Last". The New York Times. January 16, 1901. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
- Rountree, Mark (January 11, 2019). "Anniversary of grisly event next week". The Hutchinson News. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
- "Lynching in America: Outside the South". Equal Justice Initiative. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
- 1901 deaths
- 1901 murders in the United States
- Castrated people
- Deaths by person in Kansas
- January 1901 events in the United States
- Murdered African-American people
- 1901 in Kansas
- People murdered in Kansas
- People charged with rape
- Racially motivated violence against African Americans
- People charged with murder
- Leavenworth, Kansas
- Involuntary genital mutilation