North Star - Duluth Lynchings: Presence of the Past

In June of 1920, six black circus workers were wrongly accused of raping a white Duluth woman. Rumors of the rape spread through Duluth like wildfire, and a mob of angry whites formed. The mob abducted three of the suspects, beat them and paraded them through town. The terrifying rampage ended at a lamppost in the middle of downtown Duluth. With thousands clamoring to watch, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie were hanged.