Sam Hose Burned Alive Before 2,000 Spectators in Georgia

Sam Hose, a Black farm laborer in Newman, Georgia, was tortured, mutilated, and burned alive before a crowd estimated at 2,000. His knuckles were cut off and sold as souvenirs, his heart and liver were divided and sold, and his charred bones were crushed for keepsakes. The Atlanta Journal had advertised the burning in advance. Ida B. Wells hired a detective whose investigation confirmed Hose had acted in self-defense, not murder. The spectacle lynching epitomized the ritualized nature of racial terror in Georgia.