Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson, a 20-year-old Black man, was held in the Concord jail in Concord, North Carolina, alongside another man, Joseph Kiser. On the night of May 29, 1898, a mob of about 1,500 men overpowered the jailer, took the two men out of the jail, and hanged them from the same tree. One newspaper account says the body was riddled with bullets. Accounts differ on whether the jailer resisted beyond being overpowered, and one says the sheriff had taken steps to prevent a lynching.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched

Reported by: news reports.

News reports (4)

• Daily Public Ledger, May 30, 1898, page 3 Daily Public Ledger, May 30, 1898
• Waterbury Evening Democrat, May 30, 1898, page 3 Waterbury Evening Democrat, May 30, 1898
• The Daily Morning Journal And Courier, May 30, 1898, page 1 The Daily Morning Journal And Courier, May 30, 1898
• Evening Journal, May 30, 1898, page 3 Evening Journal, May 30, 1898