George Hart
George Hart, a Black man, was held in the Opelika jail in Lee County, Alabama, while awaiting trial. Most accounts say that on November 5, 1887, a group of men, estimated at between about 60 and 100, took him from the jail and hanged him from a tree, though one report gives November 13 and another November 7. The sheriff tried to persuade the group to let the law take its course. Accounts differ on how the jail was breached: one says the sheriff refused to give up the keys until six men overpowered him and took them, while another says the group overpowered him after he had gone to bed. The Equal Justice Initiative says no one was held accountable for his death and that local officials, including law enforcement, were complicit.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (neglect alleged). An 1887 newspaper report says a mob of about 100 men overpowered the Opelika jail sheriff, who had gone to bed, took the keys, and lynched him.
Reported by: 1887 newspaper reports (reporters).
News reports (7)
- The Morning News, November 7, 1887, page 1
- The Atlanta Constitution, November 8, 1887, page 4
- The Russellville Democrat, November 9, 1887, page 1
- Huntsville Gazette, November 12, 1887, page 1
- The Osceola Times, November 12, 1887, page 2
- The Forrest City Times, November 19, 1887, page 2
- Historical Marker in Opelika Memorializes Four Racial Terror Lynchings