John Hartfield facts for kids
John Hartfield was a Black man who was unlawfully killed by a large group of people in Ellisville, Mississippi in 1919. He was targeted because he was accused of having a white girlfriend. This terrible event was even announced in major newspapers a day before it happened. A crowd of as many as 10,000 people gathered to watch as Hartfield was killed.
The Story of John Hartfield
John Hartfield left his home in Ellisville to find a better life in East St. Louis. In 1919, he returned to Ellisville to visit his white girlfriend, Ruth Meeks. He found a job as a hotel worker in Laurel.
When some white men found out about his relationship, they decided they wanted to harm Hartfield. He tried to escape them for a while, but they chased him for several weeks.
The Capture
Sheriff Allen Boutwell in Laurel helped raise money for a group to hunt for Hartfield, using bloodhounds. This was requested by Sheriff Harbison. John Hartfield was finally caught on June 24 while trying to get on a train.
He was handed over to Sheriff Harbison, who then put him in the care of a deputy. The sheriff then left town. The deputy immediately let Hartfield go to a large, angry crowd.
A Public Announcement
Newspapers like the Jackson Daily News and the New Orleans States printed shocking headlines. They announced that "John Hartfield will be lynched by Ellisville mob at 5:00 this afternoon." The articles also said that "The officers have agreed to turn him over to the people of the city at 4 o'clock this afternoon."
Hartfield had been hurt, so a white doctor, A. J. Carter, treated his injuries. This was done to keep him alive long enough for the planned killing. At 5:00 PM on June 26, 1919, a huge, cheering crowd gathered to watch the planned murder of John Hartfield. Theodore Bilbo, who was the governor of Mississippi at the time, did nothing to stop it.
After the Event
After John Hartfield's death, special postcards were made to remember the event and were sent out. A story spread among white people that Hartfield had been hanged from the same tree where three Confederate soldiers were hanged during the Civil War.
Governor Bilbo made a statement saying, "This is a white man's country, with a white man's civilization and any dream on the part of the Negro race to share social and political equality will be shattered in the end."
A few days later, another Black man in Perry County was killed by a crowd just because he mentioned Hartfield's death.
In the 1920s, Ho Chi Minh, a famous leader, wrote about how John Hartfield was treated in his book Selected Works.
