Location(s): Luverne, Alabama
Decade: 1940s
On June 21, 1940, Jesse Thornton, 26 years old, was lynched in Luverne, Crenshaw County, Alabama by Police Officer Rhodes and a white mob. Thornton’s body was later found in the Patsaliga River near Tuskegee Institute. To date, it is unknown whether any investigation occurred.
The collection includes: Jesse Thornton’s death certificate, CRRJ student Janette Ekanem’s essay, “Injustice Unveiled: The Lynching of Jesse Thornton,” New York Amsterdam Star-News Luverne Journal news articles.