Historic Marker Commemorates Gadsden Lynching
Tuesday evening in Gadsden, a historical marker will go up noting one of the most painful parts in American history – a lynching. In 1906 a white mob in Gadsden took a black man named Bunk Richardson from the Etowah County Jail and lynched him from a bridge over the Coosa River. He had been arrested, along with three others, for the rape and murder of a white woman. Richardson was not part of the crime and was never charged, but he knew one of the suspects.
The idea for the marker developed earlier this year after the community-wide reading program Gadsden Reads took up the book “Just Mercy.” The book is written by Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative. It looks at discrimination in the judicial system. Gadsden Public Library director Amanda Jackson spoke about the marker with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager. She says the book prompted a look into Gadsden’s painful past.
Interview Highlights
Why so few knew about the Richardson lynching:
“It’s because it happened over 100 years ago. It’s something that didn’t get a lot of play in the media at the time. As with most areas, we don’t study our local history. We may study our country’s history and for one or two years we study Alabama history. We very rarely study the history of where we actually live.”
How the book led to a historic marker:
“As we were researching Bryan and the Equal Justice Initiative, we noticed that they did have a lynching project…they are going through the United States, starting in Montgomery, and they are documenting lynchings that happened. So when we were talking about Buck Richardson, we reached out to them and said we have one, a lynching here that had been well-documented that we can talk about. And then they told us how that project could reach into Gadsden.”
What viewers of the marker should take away:
“I want them to see Gadsden as a place that is not afraid to discuss our history. It is not afraid to discuss both the wonderful things about our history and the very, very ugly things of our history — that we’re not trying to sweep things under the rug, that we are not afraid to embrace difficult conversations.”
Photo from David Lawson via Flickr
On ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ Taylor Swift feels love’s glow and the spotlight’s glare
On her 12th album, the most dominant pop star of our era makes a spectacle of herself in full flower, in love and holding the music industry in the palm of her hand.
FDA approves another generic abortion pill, prompting outrage from conservatives
Drugmaker Evita Solutions announced on its website that the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its low-cost form of the pill, which is approved to end pregnancies through 10 weeks.
As the shutdown drags on, the threat of permanent cuts is mired in politics
President Trump is meeting with his budget director, Russ Vought, about what additional cuts to make during the shutdown, and the president says his targets are partisan.
Pope Leo’s religious community is drawing renewed interest. Here’s what makes it unique
"Before, we might get two or three discerners. But after Pope Leo, I now have 15. It's unbelievable."
The CDC still hasn’t issued COVID vaccine guidelines, leaving access in limbo
Access to the COVID-19 vaccines remains difficult because of an unusual and unexplained delay by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in accepting recommendations from its advisers.
National Guard presence may deter crime, but experts warn of the long-term costs
As President Trump ramps up efforts to send federal officers and troops into cities, criminologists are watching closely. Are the feds doing this in a smart way?
