Malcolm Wright

Portrait of Malcolm Wright. Courtesy of the Archive.
Portrait of Malcolm Wright. Courtesy of the Archive.

Location: Chickasaw County, Mississippi

Age: 48

Year: 1949

Malcolm Wright, 48, was a farmer who was killed by James Moore, Eunice Gore, and James “Red” Kellum in Chickasaw County, Mississippi.

The men accused Wright of not moving his wagon fast enough to let them pass along the road.

Subsequently, they beat Wright to death with a tire iron.

Wright’s wife and children were in the wagon, traveling with him into town on a Saturday, when he was murdered.

The three men were charged with Wright’s murder, but one of the men was acquitted at trial. There appears to have been no legal repercussions for the other two assailants.

For more information, search CRRJ’s archive.

Read more about Wright’s death on the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive

About the Archive

The Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive houses case files and documents for more than 1,000 cases of racial homicides in the Jim Crow South. Co-founded by Melissa Nobles, professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Margaret Burnham, CRRJ director and professor of law at Northeastern, these uncovered stories highlight how violence affected lives, defined legal rights and shaped politics between 1930 and 1954.

Documents relating to Wright's death

Death Certificate of Malcolm Wright, Mississippi Department of Health, filed July 6, 1949.

Death Certificate of Malcolm Wright. Courtesy of the Archive.
For newspaper reports, advocacy group documents and more, search our archive.
Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive

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