Racial tension in the
Woodstock and
Green Pond communities of
Bibb County, Alabama, worsened over the summer of 1919. Individuals terrorized the black community in southern Bibb County, around Woodstock.[1] The events culminated in a white mob seizing Jim McMillan and taking him into the Alabama bush. He was forced onto a stump and the mob shot him to death.[2][3][4][5]
Arrests
Sheriff R. H. Wood arrested four Bibb County farmers in response to the lynching: J. Blankenshlp, James D. Oglesby, Elisha Green and Tom Russell. They were charged with murder and held in jail in
Centreville, Alabama.[2] A special grand jury was summoned by B. F. Miller.[2] on June 23, 1919.[6][4][5]
These lynchings were one of several incidents of civil unrest that are now known as the
American Red Summer of 1919. Attacks on black communities and white oppression spread to more than three dozen cities and counties. In most cases, white mobs attacked African American neighborhoods. In some cases, black community groups resisted the attacks, especially in
Chicago and
Washington, D.C. Most deaths occurred in rural areas during events like the
Elaine race riot in
Arkansas, where an estimated 100 to 240 blacks and 5 whites were killed. Other major events of Red Summer were the
Chicago race riot and
Washington, D.C. race riot, which caused 38 and 39 deaths, respectively. Both riots had many more non-fatal injuries and extensive property damage reaching up into the millions of dollars.[7]
The Chattanooga News (June 21, 1919).
"Arrested For Murder". The Chattanooga News. Chattanooga, Tennessee: News Pub. Co. pp. 1–12.
ISSN2471-1977.
OCLC12703770. Retrieved September 10, 2019.