Bunk Richardson

Bunk Richardson, a Black man, was being held in the Gadsden jail in Etowah County, Alabama. Early in the morning of February 11, 1906, about two dozen masked men overpowered the sheriff and jailer, and the jailer was forced to open the cells before they took him out and hanged him from a Louisville and Nashville Railroad bridge over the Coosa River. Newspaper accounts from the time differ on whether the killing happened on February 11 or 12. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, no one was ever charged in his killing, and his relatives were forced to leave town and abandon their businesses. His grave is at Sixth Street Cemetery in Gadsden.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A white mob took Bunk Richardson from the Etowah County Jail in Gadsden, Alabama, and hanged him, according to the Equal Justice Initiative; the jail sheriff and jailer were overpowered and the jailer was forced to open the cells.

Reported by: Equal Justice Initiative (advocates); Birmingham Age-Herald editorial (reporters); Paducah Sun, reporting from a Gadsden dispatch (reporters); Interior Journal (reporters); Daily Public Ledger (reporters); Kentucky paper (reporters); Gadsden coroner's inquest (medical examiner or coroner).

News reports (14)

• The Montgomery Advertiser, February 12, 1906, page 1 The Montgomery Advertiser, February 12, 1906
• The Courier-Journal, February 12, 1906, page 1 The Courier-Journal, February 12, 1906
• The Paducah Sun, February 12, 1906, page 1 The Paducah Sun, February 12, 1906
• Alexandria Gazette, February 12, 1906, page 2 Alexandria Gazette, February 12, 1906
• Daily Public Ledger, February 13, 1906, page 1 Daily Public Ledger, February 13, 1906
• The Interior Journal, February 13, 1906, page 6 The Interior Journal, February 13, 1906
• The Birmingham Age-Herald, February 14, 1906, page 4 The Birmingham Age-Herald, February 14, 1906
• The Commonwealth, February 16, 1906, page 2 The Commonwealth, February 16, 1906
• Times-Promoter, February 16, 1906, page 6 Times-Promoter, February 16, 1906
• The Bolivar County Democrat, February 17, 1906, page 2 The Bolivar County Democrat, February 17, 1906
• The Semi-Weekly Leader, February 17, 1906, page 3 The Semi-Weekly Leader, February 17, 1906
• Hopkinsville Kentuckian, February 17, 1906, page 4 Hopkinsville Kentuckian, February 17, 1906
• The Birmingham Age-Herald, March 27, 1906, page 3 The Birmingham Age-Herald, March 27, 1906
• EJI Dedicates Lynching Marker in Gadsden, Alabama, for Bunk Richardson Equal Justice Initiative, December 14, 2016