A Lynching in the Heartland: Race and Memory in America [Paperback]

Prof. James H. Madison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2003 | ISBN-10: 1403961212 | ISBN-13: 978-1403961211

On a hot summer night in 1930, three black teenagers accused of murdering a young white man and raping his girlfriend waited for justice in an Indiana jail. A mob dragged them from the jail and lynched two of them. No one in Marion, Indiana was ever punished for the murders. In this gripping account, James H. Madison refutes the popular perception that lynching was confined to the South, and clarifies 20th-century America's painful encounters with race, justice, and memory.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Indiana University professor James H. Madison tells the story behind one of America's most infamous photographs: the image of two black teenagers dangling from a tree after a 1930 lynching in Marion, Indiana. The photo, reproduced on the cover, draws its power not only from the dead boys but also from the "shameless faces" of the white onlookers. The lynching itself involved three black teenagers accused of killing a white man and raping a white woman. Two of the alleged perpetrators were dragged from their jail cells shortly after they supposedly confessed to the crimes; the third, James Cameron, survived only because the crowd came to its senses. He was eventually convicted of voluntary manslaughter (but not murder or rape), served his time, went on to lead a productive life, and was pardoned by the governor in 1993. No member of the lynch mob, however, was ever brought to justice--even though their acts were captured on film and witnessed by thousands. There are holes in the story--whether Mary Ball really was raped "will likely never be known," says Madison--but A Lynching in the Heartland succeeds at providing a detailed look at a horrible incident and its aftermath. --John Miller --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The jacket photograph is chilling: the bloody bodies of two African-American young men hang from a tree while a crowd of white men and women mills below, dressed as if attending a parade or political rally, gawking and pointing. In this heartfelt and wide-ranging study of this tragedy, Madison explores the events of August 7, 1930, in the small town of Marion, Ind. The two men along with a third, who narrowly escaped were in jail on charges of murdering a white man and raping a white woman when a white mob stormed the jail and hung the two men from a tree outside the nearby courthouse. But Madison (a historian at Indiana University) moves beyond these stomach-churning facts, scrutinizing racial dynamics in Marion in the decades both before and after the lynching. Race was so etched into the minds of white residents that it even followed heroes into death: on a local memorial for World War I soldiers, the names of two of the dead are followed by "(col.)" for "colored." Madison probes how the lynching became a subtext in later years, including in the integration of the town swimming pool in 1954. Only recently, Madison says, has Marion come to terms with its past: the survivor of the lynching was awarded the keys to the city in 1993, and an African-American was finally elected sheriff in 1998. As passionate as it is disturbing, Madison's book is a dire reminder of the horrors the American heartland held for the dispossessed.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403961212
• ISBN-13: 978-1403961211
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #484,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Perfunctory telling of interesting story, February 11, 2004

By 

Nicolas S. Martin (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Lynching in the Heartland: Race and Memory in America (Paperback)

I grew up in Richmond, Indiana, about an hour from the Marion, location of the lynchings. Because of my family's friendship with blacks and my mother's civil right's activity (in the 1960s), we sustained threats and physical abuse that necessitated police intervention. In Wayne County, of which Richmond is the county seat, apparently up to half of the white males were members of the KKK in the 1920s. Statewide, the Klan was as powerful as it was in any other state. The ugly history of Indiana racism deserves more attention, and Madison directs us to one especially compelling story.

Like many non-fiction books, the story is more interesting than the telling. Madison is a pedantic writer and the editing is mediocre. The author has an infuriating habit of engaging in unfounded speculation. For instance, he writes "Indeed, it may have been the Beitler photograph [of the lynchings] that so haunted Abel Meeropol and led him to write [the jazz song] 'Strange Fruit.'" And Meeropol may not have seen the photo, so why bother to speculate about the unknowable?

The lynch mob intended to murder three young men, but the youngest, James Cameron, was apparently spared because someone in the mob declared that he was innocent. Madison spends much time on Cameron, but his story comes off somewhat incoherent. In later life Cameron, who admitted his role in the killing that led to the lynchings, wrote a book and devoted himself to publicizing the incident. Madison notes in passing that Cameron fictionalized some events in his book, but he isn't inclined to challenge the eventual transformation of Camerson into something of a hero. As grizzly as the lynchings were, the victims-- if Cameron is to be believed -- were hardly saints. Madison dances gingerly around the issue of guilt, as if the lynchings could only be denounced if those hung were nice people. No doubt some of those lynched throughout the U.S. were guilty, but that doesn't lessen the abomination of the the mob response, and its indiscriminate spilling into further racial violence.

Mary Ball was a white woman who claimed to have been raped one or more of the three black men. Yet she was said to have been in a relationship with one of the three, and on good terms with the others. Madison does a poor job of nailing down the most likely explanation of what actually happened to Ball, if anything. He doesn't ask the obvious question: since James Cameron was there, why didn't he tell whether Mary was raped? If he did tell, why doesn't Madison tell us what Cameron said happened? It is as though Madison wants to use the fragments that enhance the undeniable horror of the lynchings, while ignoring details that cast the victims in a bad light. This may be good politics, but it is poor historical writing. Let's know the facts and let the chips fall where they might.

On balance, the book is worth reading, but with an eye to the loose ends Madison neglects to tie up.

It is a testament to America's transformation that Marion, and my town Richmond, have seen radical improvement in black-white relations. A friend of my family was a fireman who, like all black firemen in Richmond, was segregated at Station No. 2 into the 1960s (and long denied deserved promotions). He eventually retired as assistant chief and his daughter was elected president of the student body at Richmond High School. It still isn't uncommon to hear the word "nigger" spoken (by whites) in Richmond, but the town, Indiana, and America, have come a long way.

It's important to be aware of history, though.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful - great history, both local and national, October 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Lynching in the Heartland: Race and Memory in America (Hardcover)

Little was known on this topic before I bought the book - honestly the cover caught my attention first. The author starts out by telling the gripping and true tale of the lynching of 2 black teenagers in a small Indiana town in 1930. I live near this town and never ever heard of anything ever happening like this. History we are ashamed of apparently gets swept under the rug. This book opened my eyes to race-relations in Indiana and in the northern states during the early 20th's century. It really sets the stage for the Civil Rights acts that follow - and it's is wonderful to understand it from such a local perspective.
This book is not about "lynching". It is about injustice and mob-mentalities, as well as the history of race-relations in the U.S. - from the perspective of a small midwestern town. A town that many people would consider to be a typical place. The history written is non-fiction, although I wish in many ways it were fiction. I find it difficult to grasp that humans act the ways they do, and the author did a fabulous job of remaining objective and explaining the facts in a sleuth-like manner.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars History Uncovered, May 21, 2002

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Lynching in the Heartland: Race and Memory in America (Hardcover)

In August of 1930, a lynching took place. It would not be uncommon for one to assume that the lynching took place in the deep south, but in this instance, the assumption would be incorrect. The lynchings of Tom Shipp and Abe Smith took place in Marion, Indiana, America's Heartland. This event is responsible for one of the most famous photographs of an American lynching.

The author demonstrates how stereotypes and fear contributed to the lynching. The mere suggestion that a White woman was raped and a White man was murdered by three Black men, provided enough inspiration to turn a normally cordial, if not friendly, small town into a lynch mob. Madison outlines how a community dealt with the chilling reality that such mob violence had taken place in their small town. Because of shame, guilt and even fear, this tragic event was buried in Marion, Indiana's collective memory.

Flossie Bailey, a prominent African American woman in the community, as well as others, worked hard to mobilize the community in an attempt to make sure that at least some of the people involved in the murders would be held responsible for the crimes while fear kept other African Americans in the community quiet. Unfortunately, no one was held responsible for the crime.

Madison also highlights the history behind what is considered by many to be the most famous lynching photograph in American history. The photograph, taken by Lawrence Beitler the night of the lynching, has been reproduced and widely circulated. During the time immediately following the lynching, some people bought copies to serve as a "trophy", while others felt it was an abomination. It is a stirring photograph that depicts two dead men hanging from a tree while crowds of White's stand around some in their Sunday best, some pointing, and some chatting and laughing.

This book begins with a vivid and chilling description of the events leading up to the lynching, the lynching itself and the events that followed. The description of the scene was a result of the author's extensive research which included interviews, reviewing court documents, magazines, books and other historical archives. Although the author noted that his initial goal was to write an article about the event, he quickly learned that the story of this lynching was much bigger than what could be captured in an article. In addition to the actual description of the events surrounding the lynching, the author creates a historical context by providing a description of life for both African Americans and Whites during the era. He details the role that the NAACP and committed community leaders played in fighting for broader civil rights for African Americans.

He ends the book with a story of healing. On the night of the lynching, three men were in jail awaiting trial, yet only two of them were lynched. The third man, James Cameron's life was spared, and eventually Cameron began to share his story with the world. His goal in sharing the story was to promote racial healing and unity. This book touches on an area of American history that is often buried and rarely talked about. Through the author's research he is able to share a story that demonstrates just how far we as a Nation have come, and I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay