imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:African-American life in Omaha, Nebraska to :Category:African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy

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Moving Category:African-American life in Omaha, Nebraska to Category:African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy

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{{short description|African American lynched in the U.S.}}
{{For|the early Latter Day Saint leader|Joseph Coe}}{{Use American English|date=October 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}{{Nadir of American race relations}}
'''Joe Coe''', also known as '''George Smith''', was an [[African-American]] laborer who was [[lynching|lynched]] on October 10, 1891, in [[Omaha, Nebraska]]. Overwhelmed by a mob of one thousand at the [[Douglas County Courthouse (Omaha)#Second courthouse|Douglas County Courthouse]], the twelve city police officers stood by without intervening. Afterward, the mayor called the lynching "the most deplorable thing that has ever happened in the history of the country."<ref>Ginzburg, R. (1988) ''100 Years of Lynchings.'' Black Classic Press. p 129.</ref>

==Biography and death==
Coe was a married man with two children who lived on North 12th Street north of downtown Omaha. On October 7, 1891, Lizzie Yates, a five-year-old white child who also lived in North Omaha, accused Coe of assaulting her. Before the verdict was passed rumors swept through Omaha about Coe getting away with the crime, about the girl dying, and about Coe receiving a small punishment.

A crowd of men was already gathered at the old [[Douglas County, Nebraska|Douglas County]] Courthouse the day when Coe was brought in, to witness an unrelated, scheduled [[hanging]], an official execution. Rumors flew around Omaha that the girl had died, the guilty party was in jail, and was only going to be punished with 20 years' incarceration.<ref>Peattie, E.W. (2005) ''Impertinences: Selected Writings of Elia Peattie, a Journalist in the Gilded Age''. University of Nebraska Press. p. 106.</ref>

The next day, a [[Ochlocracy|mob]] of several hundred to 1,000 men formed in [[downtown Omaha]] early on October 10 and overwhelmed the [[Omaha Police Department|police]] at the courthouse.<ref>[[Quintard Taylor]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=9Nj1lVZQAcYC&pg=PA205 ''In Search Of The Racial Frontier: African Americans in the American West, 1528-1990''], New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1998, p.205</ref> Councilman Moriarty drove his cane through a window and led the men against the courthouse.<ref name="Ginzburg, R. 1988 p 128">Ginzburg, R. (1988), p 128, Reprint of 5 Oct 1919 article, ''Omaha Bee''.</ref> Leaders drove Coe to the assumed victim's house in the [[Near North Side (Omaha, Nebraska)|Near North Side]] neighborhood to be identified by the parents. The mother immediately said she had seen Coe roaming around the house, although she would not swear that it was him.<ref name="Ginzburg, R. 1988 p 128"/>

When the mob brought Coe back to the courthouse to be lynched, [[James E. Boyd (politician)|James E. Boyd]], the governor of Nebraska, and the county sheriff both appealed to the men to disperse. Instead, by midnight a crowd of 1,000 to 10,000 people had gathered at the courthouse.<ref>Ginzburg, R. (1988), Reprint of 5 Oct 1919 article, ''Omaha Bee'', p 129. Note: This account was written by the inflammatory ''Omaha Bee'' shortly after the Sept. 1919 race riot, to which the Bee likely contributed by yellow journalism before the event. Their estimate of the size of the crowd is ten times larger an academic historian's account and may be overstated.</ref> The mob beat Coe and dragged him through city streets. He was probably already dead when he was [[hanging|hung]] from a streetcar wire at 17th and Harney Streets.<ref>Taylor, Q. (1998) ''In Search of the Racial Frontier: African Americans in the American West, 1528-1990''. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 206.</ref> [[List of mayors of Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha mayor]] [[Richard C. Cushing (Omaha)|Richard C. Cushing]] quickly condemned the lynching as "the most deplorable thing that has ever happened in the history of the country."<ref>Ginzburg, R. (1988) p 129.</ref>

==Aftermath==
Seven men were arrested for the crime, including the chief of police and the manager of a large dry goods store. A mob gathered outside the jail and threatened to destroy it unless the suspects were freed on bail but the County Attorney was determined to refuse them.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1891/10/11/103341238.pdf "Lynchers under arrest"], ''The New York Times.'' October 11, 1891. Retrieved 5/25/08.</ref>

The following day when Coe's body was set for public viewing at a downtown [[mortuary]], six thousand spectators filed by. [[Huckster]]s sold pieces of the lynching rope as souvenirs.<ref>Bristow, D.L. (2002) ''A Dirty, Wicked Town.'' Caxton Press. p 253.</ref>

Ten days after the lynching, the Douglas County Assistant [[Coroner]] testified in court that Smith died of "fright", rather than of the wounds inflicted on him by the mob. Those wounds included sixteen wounds to his body and three [[vertebrae]] broken in his spine. Despite this, the coroner testified, "[T]he heart was so contracted and the blood was in such a condition that the doctor was satisfied that the man was literally scared to death." County Attorney Mahoney said he would have to modify the charges against the lynchers.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1891/10/20/103343634.pdf "Smith died of fright"], ''The New York Times'', October 20, 1891. Retrieved 4/20/08</ref> The grand jury decided not to prosecute.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[Crime in Omaha]]
* [[Mass racial violence in the United States]]
* [[Racial tension in Omaha, Nebraska]]
* [[Civil Rights Movement in Omaha, Nebraska]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [https://northomahahistory.com/2011/01/29/a-history-of-omahas-first-recorded-lynching/ "A History of Omaha's First Recorded Lynching"] by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com

{{Ethnicity in Omaha}}
{{North Omaha}}
{{Lynching in the United States}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coe, Joe}}
[[Category:1891 in Nebraska]]
[[Category:1891 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:1891 riots]]
[[Category:October 1891]]
[[Category:19th century in Omaha, Nebraska]]
[[Category:Lynchings in Omaha, Nebraska]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in Nebraska]]
[[Category:African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska]]
[[Category:Racially motivated violence against African Americans]]
[[Category:People from Omaha, Nebraska]]
[[Category:History of Downtown Omaha, Nebraska]]
[[Category:People murdered in Nebraska]]
[[Category:Murdered African-American people]]
[[Category:Anti-black racism in Nebraska]]

Lynching of Joe Coe - Revision history

imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:African-American life in Omaha, Nebraska to :Category:African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy