October 1934

Claude Neal, a Black farmworker in Marianna, Florida, was accused of murdering Lola Cannady, a white woman. His October 26, 1934 lynching was announced in advance by wire services and newspaper notices across the Southeast. Over 3,000 people, including families with children, traveled to watch. Neal was tortured for hours before being killed; his body was dragged through town and hanged at the courthouse. Photographs were sold as souvenirs. The NAACP sent investigator Howard Kester whose report galvanized national anti-lynching legislation efforts. The FBI took no action.

After being taken from an Alabama jail, Claude Neal was tortured and lynched in Marianna, Florida by a mob of 3,000+. Local radio and newspapers announced the lynching in advance; photographs were sold as souvenirs. The NAACP documented the event in detail to press Congress for anti-lynching legislation.