The Forest City lynching of 1900 : populism, racism, and white supremacy in Rutherford County, North Carolina / J. Timothy Cole.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cole, J. Timothy, 1959-

Series:

Contributions to southern Appalachian studies ; 10.

Contributions to southern Appalachian studies ; 10

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mills, Avery, -1900.

Mills, Avery.

Flack, Mills Higgins.

Lynching--North Carolina--Forest City.

Lynching.

Murder--North Carolina--Forest City.

Murder.

Rutherford County (N.C.)--Race relations.

Rutherford County (N.C.).

North Carolina--Forest City.

Physical Description:

vii, 195 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, [2003]

Summary:

Politics in Rutherford County were heated a century ago: the developing textile industry, the growing population, an agricultural crisis, and race relations inflamed everyone. Mills Higgins Flack, a leader of the Farmers' Alliance and the county's first Populist in the state House, was allegedly murdered on August 28, 1900, by Avery Mills, an African American. This book documents the murder and the lynching of Avery Mills. The author (Flack's great-great-grandson) considers the phenomenon of racial lynching, the Populist movement in the county, the white supremacy movement of the state's Democratic party, and the county's KKK activities.

Contents:

1 Mills Higgins Flack and the Agrarian Revolt in Rutherford 23

2 The Fusion Era and White Supremacy in Rutherford 42

3 The Forest City Lynching and Its Aftermath 62

4 Epilog: The Silence of Dishonor 82

Appendix I. A Partial List of Members (Chiefly Officers) of the Farmers' Alliance in Rutherford 89

Appendix II. Populist Candidates in Rutherford (1892-1898) 93

Appendix III. The Charlotte Daily Observer Article of 29 August 1900 95

Appendix IV. The Charlotte Daily Observer Article of 31 August 1900 98

Appendix V. Affidavit Submitted by Raney Mills to Rutherford County Superior Court, Fall 1900, and the Order of Judge Shaw, Etc. 100

Appendix VI. Research on the Origins and Revolutionary Services of the Flacks of Guilford and Rutherford Counties 103

Appendix VII. Plato Durham, John Baxter Eaves and the Ku Klux Conspiracy in Rutherford 118.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 145-188) and index.

ISBN:

0786416238

OCLC:

52520493