Luther Holbert facts for kids

Luther Holbert (1852 – February 7, 1904) was an African American man who was killed by a mob in Doddsville, Mississippi on Sunday, February 7, 1904, after being accused of a double murder. An African American woman who was with Holbert was also killed. Six other people were also killed during the search for Holbert and the woman.

Personal life

Holbert was born into slavery in 1852 in Mississippi. He was freed after the American Civil War ended in 1865, and married Annie in 1884; they had four children. Holbert also had a child with a mistress.

Background

On Wednesday February 3, 1904, wealthy white landowner James Eastland went to find Holbert to order him off the plantation. Three men died in the encounter that followed. There was a scuffle and it was alleged that Holbert shot Eastland and an African American man named John Carr. Eastland returned fire and killed a black man named John Winters. Others stated that Eastland had attacked Holbert for encouraging other indebted Black workers to flee the slavery-like conditions of bonded labor.

News reached town and a posse was formed. Relatives of Eastland offered a $1,200 reward (about $37,000 in 2021). They came to the Eastland plantation and murdered an unknown black man. Holbert and a black woman had already fled. Several posses were formed with teams of bloodhounds. On February 4, 1904, one of the posses killed two other black men who were unlucky enough to be in the path of the posse.

On February 5, 1904, Holbert's sixteen-year-old son was taken into custody on suspicion of being involved. He was later released. On Sunday, February 7, 1904, a posse finally caught up with Holbert and the woman. They had traveled 100 miles (160 km) on foot, through bogs and thickets and they were found early in the morning sleeping in a wooded area near Shepardstown.

Trial

C.C. Eastland was arrested for the murder of Holbert and the woman. When the case was before a judge, on September 22, 1904, Eastland's attorney made a motion to dismiss the charges. The judge dismissed all charges and Eastland was freed. It was reported that a large crowd applauded the decision. Nobody was ever held accountable for the murder.

Legacy

In November 1904, Woods Caperton Eastland, one of the brothers who led the posse, had a son; he was named James Eastland in honor of his uncle, and went on to become a U.S. Senator. He was a leader of Southern resistance to racial integration during the civil rights movement, often speaking of African Americans as "an inferior race."

In 2018, the brutal torture and murder of Luther Holbert was recognized at Alabama's National Memorial for Peace and Justice.