Calvin McDowell was a worker at a grocery store in Memphis, Tennessee. He was lynched by a white mob while in police custody along with a coworker Henry Stewart. One day Calvin attempted to help a young black boy getting beaten by an older white man outside the store. More people joined into the fight and one man, William Barrett, was clubbed. He said the person who hit him was Will Stewart. A police officer and Barrett returned to the store to interview Calvin. He said no one matching Stewarts description worked in the store and Barrett hit Calvin with his revolver but dropped it in the process. Calvin tried to shoot at Barrett in defense but missed. Calvin was arrested but then released on March 4. Not too much later the store was attacked by white men and Calvin was arrested. On March 9 75 men in black masks surrounded the county jail. They dragged Calvin and two others out and brought them to a railroad yard a mile outside of Memphis. Calvin struggled but the men shot at his hands until they were gone. He was then hung in front of all of town and more. They shot him in the face destroying it.
Calvin McDowell was a worker at a grocery store in Memphis, Tennessee. He was lynched by a white mob while in police custody along with a coworker Henry Stewart. One day Calvin attempted to help a young black boy getting beaten by an older white man outside the store. More people joined into the fight and one man, William Barrett, was clubbed. He said the person who hit him was Will Stewart. A police officer and Barrett returned to the store to interview Calvin. He said no one matching Stewarts description worked in the store and Barrett hit Calvin with his revolver but dropped it in the process. Calvin tried to shoot at Barrett in defense but missed. Calvin was arrested but then released on March 4. Not too much later the store was attacked by white men and Calvin was arrested. On March 9 75 men in black masks surrounded the county jail. They dragged Calvin and two others out and brought them to a railroad yard a mile outside of Memphis. Calvin struggled but the men shot at his hands until they were gone. He was then hung in front of all of town and more. They shot him in the face destroying it.
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