Permission to Hate
Delaware, Lynching, and the Culture of Violence in America
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18962783 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yohuru R Williams (Delaware State University), Yohuru Williams (Delaware State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2001 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 3-29 |
| Publication date | 2001-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Black Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9347 • E-ISSN: 1552-4566 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/002193470103200101 |
| OpenAlex | W1969811037 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 8 |
On June 15, 1903, authorities in Wilmington, Delaware, apprehended a Black man named George White for the assault and rape of Helen S. Bishop, a White woman. The following afternoon, the charges against White were upgraded to murder after the victim expired due to injuries she sustained during the attack. White was found guilty the same day by a coroner's jury, which committed him to the newly erected state workhouse to await a formal trial in September. Despite demands that White face immediate sentencing, authorities decided that there was no need to call for a special session of the court. Over the next several days, a lynching hysteria began to build in the city. At the height of the tumult, on Sunday, June 21, the Reverend Robert A. Elwood of the Wilmington Olivet Presbyterian Church delivered an ominous sermon. Brandishing blood-stained leaves from the site of the Bishop assault, the reverend declared the city deficient in its responsibility to protect its citizens from such criminal atrocities and dilatory for not delivering speedy justice onto White. The next evening a mob stormed the workhouse. They marched White to the scene of his alleged crime, demanded a confession, and then lynched him by burning him alive. The lynching of White in Wilmington, Delaware, was typical of such occurrences in the early 20th century. Between 1882 and 1921, the United States was the scene of more than 3,405 lynchings. Most of the victims were African American men, women, and children. Described alternatively as unofficial executions, the
Epistemology · Permission · Political science · Sociology · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Race, History, and American Society · Social Psychology
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.86 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2026 (8) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |