Lynching of Jo Reed
African American man who was lynched in the U.S. / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jo Reed was an African American man who was lynched in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 30, 1875, where he was taken by a white mob from the county jail after being arrested for killing a police officer in a confrontation. He was hanged from a suspension bridge but, after the rope broke, Reed survived the attempted lynching, escaped via the river, and left Nashville to go West.
Lynching of Jo Reed | |
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Location | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
Date | April 30, 1875; 148 years ago (1875-04-30) |
Attack type | Lynching |
In contrast to similar later incidents, both the governor of Tennessee and mayor of Nashville intervened after Reed was arrested, seeking extra police protection at the jail. (The sheriff did not supply it.) Rumors were rampant about a lynching, and the mayor tried to hold off the mob from the jail. The Nashville City Council condemned the lynching. Two white men were arrested for breaking into the jail, but no other prosecution took place.