Bunkie Richardson

Bunkie Richardson, a Black man, was held in the Gadsden jail in Etowah County, Alabama, when about twenty-four masked men came to the jail in the early hours of Sunday, February 11, 1906. They overpowered the sheriff and jailer, and a Montgomery Advertiser report says the jailer was forced to open the cells before the men took him out and hanged him from a Louisville and Nashville Railroad bridge over the Coosa River. A coroner's jury returned a verdict that he was killed by parties unknown, and according to the Birmingham Age-Herald, a grand jury declined to indict anyone for the killing. Equal Justice Initiative says his relatives were forced to leave town and abandon thriving businesses, and that his grave at Sixth Street Cemetery is one that local advocates are working to restore.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Bunkie Richardson from the Gadsden jail and hanged him from a railroad bridge over the Coosa River; the jailer was forced to open the cells, and a coroner's jury returned a verdict of killed by parties unknown.

Reported by: Gadsden jail sheriff and jailer, overpowered by the mob (the agency that held him); coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner); Equal Justice Initiative (advocates); Birmingham Age-Herald editorial (reporters); Paducah Sun, reporting from a Gadsden dispatch (reporters); Daily Public Ledger (reporters); Interior Journal (reporters); Kentucky paper (reporters).

News reports (16)

• 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
• Los Angeles Herald, February 12, 1906, page 1 Los Angeles Herald, February 12, 1906
• The San Francisco Call, February 12, 1906, page 13 The San Francisco Call, 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