1889
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Key events
- December 28, 1889Barnwell South Carolina Massacre 1889: Eight Black Men Killed
On December 28, 1889, a white mob in Barnwell County, South Carolina, seized and executed eight Black men who had been accused of crimes. The men were taken from custody and shot in a field. Governor Richardson condemned the killings but no one was charged. The massacre occurred amid escalating white supremacist terrorism aimed at eliminating Black political leadership in the county.
- 1889Barnwell Massacre: Eight Black Men Killed in South Carolina
In Barnwell County, South Carolina, a white mob seized and killed eight Black men who had been accused of minor offenses and were awaiting legal proceedings. The massacre was conducted in plain sight of law enforcement who took no action. It illustrated how extralegal white violence had effectively replaced the legal system in the post-Reconstruction South.