This Day in History: 1892-04-30

A white mob lynches Ephraim Grizzard in Nashville, Tennessee, just days after the lynching of his brother, Henry. In the middle of the afternoon, the unmasked mob dragged Ephraim Grizzard from the Nashville jail, stripped him naked, beat and stabbed him severely, and then hanged him from the Woodland Street Bridge. As Mr. Grizzard’s corpse swayed in the air, members of the mob riddled his body with bullets. Thousands of spectators viewed the brutal scene as Mr. Grizzard’s mutilated body was reportedly left on display for almost 90 minutes. Four or five black men, including Mr. Grizzard and his brothers Henry and John, had been arrested on April 27 in response to the nonspecific allegations of two white girls that Black men had assaulted them. Ephraim and Henry were murdered before ever having been specifically identified, investigated, or tried. Despite the bold, public nature of both lynchings, no one was held accountable for either of the brothers’ deaths. Learn more.