For K-12 and college-level teachers who want to educate themselves and their students on the subject of lynching, which, it hardly needs saying, is one of the most vile and horrifying parts of this country’s post-Civil War history, the site Lynching in America, created by the Equal Justice Initiative, is as thorough a portrayal as you are likely to find. It includes a lengthy report on the history of lynching, as well as audio stories, a video exploring one family’s experiences, interactive maps, even lesson plans for teaching about the topic.

I learned about the site from an NAACP magazine I receive along with my membership, which I began soon after Trump was elected.

Non-educators who want to know more about the topic will find the material valuable as well. However, I have to admit, I’ve only scanned the site. I find it too unsettling to see pictures or even read detailed descriptions of this horrific part of our history. I don’t think teachers below the high school level would use the entire site with students, though it would certainly give the teachers the background to discuss lynching with younger children if they felt it was appropriate. I also imagine teachers using this material would warn students about the nature of the contents and give them alternative ways to fulfill class assignments.

Here’s how the “About” page describes the site and its purpose.

The Equal Justice Initiative believes we need to change the narrative about race in America in order to advance our collective goal of equal justice for all. As part of this work, we extensively researched the period between the Civil War and World War II, when over 4,000 African Americans were lynched in this country. We published our findings in the report Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror, the most comprehensive work done on lynching to date. Many racial terror lynchings, however, went unreported and their victims remain unknown.

The entire report is included on the site.

Much of the funding for the organization and this project came from Google, which has contributed $2.5 million to EJI.

This article appears in Jan 25-31, 2018.

5 replies on “‘Lynching in America’: An Excellent, and Horrifying, Educational Resource”

  1. “For K-12 and college-level teachers who want to educate themselves and their students on the subject of lynching, … ” Is there a big demand for information on lynchings? Like included in a course on the many ways to kill fellow homo sapiens, particularly the dark skinned ones? Probably should be required subject for K and preK kids. Get a bunch of negro Barbies and a ball of twine. I’ll probably pass on “Lynching in America: ….”

  2. EVERY school kid in the U.S. should receive age-appropriate instruction in the long history of racism in their nation (which includes its prevalence right now, today, in many of the institutions and much of the rhetoric in the public sphere), for the straightforward purpose that they grow up to be enlightened, informed citizens who make sure it doesn’t continue.

  3. Skinnyman, there is big difference between “age-appropriate instruction … racism …” and focusing on the subject of lynching. And “grow up to be enlightened informed citizens …” because of instruction on lynchings? You don’t think that most adults today are aware of the lynchings. If a course on Lynching will result in enlightened informed citizens—and that would be a wow— then then schools should move ahead, post haste.

  4. DennyG our kids get instructed on the importance of the military every day of their lives, particularly here in Southern Arizona where it also is a major driver of the economy. Its all cast in a brotherly light, so it seems to me that the other side of what violence looks like should be presented as well. I don’t think the “appropriateness” factor comes into play with age as much as with what you are touching on: how to teach kids our history (and present) of violence and racism in a way that makes them NOT want to repeat it. I don’t think the way to get there is to hide the lynchings, the torture, the exploitation that the country is built on and continues to build itself on. In fact, that is how our history has been taught, and look what it has added up to… Lets add in the other side(s) and see if that gets us somewhere better.

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