The Lynchings in Duluth

An analysis of the events before and after the lynchings

3/20/2012

It was a long held family secret, and its deeply buried shame was brought to the surface and unraveled. We will never know the destinies and legacies these men would have chosen for themselves if they had been allowed to make that choice. Warren Read gave this dedicational speech at the opening of the Clayton Jackson Mcghie Memorial in Duluth, Minnesota. Warren Read is the great-grandson of one of the inciters of the violence, gave the final introduction to the memorial. It shows humility to take responsibility for something done by ancestors, although responsibility might not be the correct word. It may be to remember what was done by those before. Duluth however was a very different place in the early 1900s. I was familiar with the Lynchings in Duluth before reading the book by Michael Fedo. I was invited to go to the inaugural ceremony of the opening of the exhibit, however I declined. From what I remember, feedback for the memorial was quite positive. I dont, or cant recall much in terms of negative feedback. I do believe a few people were questioning the allocation of taxpayer money at the time to build the memorial. I was in 8th grade I believe when it was erected. It was a big deal when it was christened, national media was there. The buildup to the lynching cannot just be cited by one particular event. MPR did a story on a man named Olli Kinkkonen who was lynched in 1918 in Duluths Lakeside District. Another event that led to hostilities was the influx of African Americans following World War 1, there were rumors of what Black Solders did to French white women during WW1. Local Historian Joel Sipress explained that, it was a violent time. If you were the right kind of person, you could get away with murder. The Minnesota NPR story explained that the local newspaper in Duluths historical archives had numerous attacks against immigrants and union leaders during the era. The Race Riots of 1919 fueled the strong anti-black sentiment that swept the upper mid-west. In 1920, 57 black men were lynched. A man factor in hostilities that Fedo mentioned is the Strike breaking tactics used by U.S. Steel, in which hundreds of blacks were imported to work at a Duluth mill. Another crucial factor which may have led to the incidents is the death of a boot-legger, who was shot by a policeman. The policeman Frank Schulte shot and killed Eli Vuckidonyich on June 2nd, 1920 just two weeks earlier. The Duluth Herald, the local paper, and other regional papers grilled the Police for their decision to use their guns so fast. The riots themselves that led to the lynching were started because two local teenagers went to the Visiting in Circus in Duluth. The James Robinson Circus was performing in Duluth. The teenagers, Irene Tusken, and James Sullivan, in the book, Sandra Teale and Bobby Walsh respectively stayed behind to watch the black workers take apart the circus. Later that night, James Sullivan, 19 at the time claimed that earlier on the night of June 14th 1920 he was assaulted. His partner, Irene Tusken was raped by the circus workers. The father of the boy, James Sullivan called the chief of police, who then had all the workers line up. Six African Americans were picked; the evidence was in their favor. A local Physician claimed he saw no evidence of the rape on the morning of June 15th after examining Tusken. A mob came to take the alleged assailants, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Issac Mcghie. The mob like mentality grew to significantly large numbers, and in a public show trial they were found guilty. They were hung in the middle of downtown Duluth. Captain Morke arrived too late. He received his

mobilization orders a little after midnight on June 16th. With 104 men, he dispersed the streets. The Governor of Minnesota J.A.A Burnquist, a member of the Saint Paul branch of the N.A.A.C.P received the dispatch telling about the lynchings an hour later. By 2:30 in the morning, the National Guard was dispatched and on a train to Duluth. It was too late. In a time of despair, a few people stood up for the injustice. Reverend William Powers of Duluths Sacred Heart Cathedral, one of the more popular religious figures in town according to Fedo, was informed of the mob by another Reverend, Father Maloney from Ireland. Lieutenant Barber tried to stand up against the mob; he was in charge because the police chief was in Virginia Minnesota. But he got to the cells to late, by that time; the mob had the power on the police. Barber was actually tied up by the mob. John Burr stood up partially against the mob; he attempted to help Loney Williams. He put himself directly between himself and Williams. The police stood against the mob. They however were not equipped with any handguns or clubs. Reinforcements were ill equipped to come, and Commissioner William Murnian had put a restriction on using firearms. Finally, the Duluth attorney, Hugh Mclearn earned for justice. He pleaded with the crowd for a fair trial. He tried to relate with the crowd, but he was unable to convince them at the time. The people that committed the crimes were all white. They were all working class, barely educated, or some that went with their fathers and such. Lots of individuals worked at the docks and at the railroads. The men who were first spotted were those who were just fresh out of high school. A shop clerk gave the young boys rope for free. William Ronzon was a frycook. Not very educated, high skilled jobs were most of these came from It seems that it was more the apathy with the situation, that was combined with a snow ball effect. The movement appeared to have started with the youth and the paper the Duluth Herald, the rumors only amplified the situation. Fedo states that nearly every day there was a story in the local paper about lynchings. The father of James Sullivan was an integral figure in rabble-rousing. Right fully so, he truly believed his son was telling the truth. His father was the superintendant of the grain terminal. Louis Dondino, a blue-collar auto-porter, most of these were young men from West Duluth; The more industrial and blue collar part of down. Leonard Hedman, a young railroader was involved as well. The modis operandi was that nearly all worked for the railroad, and nearly all were from West Duluth. Its interesting the way Fedo Portrayed the neighborhoods, very much so today is Duluth a Divided place. Growing up in Lakeside, it was frowned upon, especially in high school to wonder into Gary-New Duluth, or Morgan Park, unless you were looking for trouble. Duluth is very much a divided city, Gary-New Duluth is seldom talked about, its a relic from time past. The same goes for Central-hillside, old, preserved from a very different era. To me the book is an important book to read because of the freshness of it all. Like the titanic, or D-Day, the Civil war, those are big national events of profound importance. For Minnesotans the Clayton Jackson Mcghie memorial is something of proudness, acceptance and recongintion of mistakes made in the past. For Duluthians like me proud to be a Duluthian; its convenient to forget that at one point we were the center of injustice. The book has taught me that a mob like mentality can lead to problems, we see this commonly in the news. More so with the evolution of mass media, and the forprofit agenda of all news agencies, sometimes the truth gets lost within the sensation. Bob Dylan even sang about the incident in Desolation Row. Its very similar to what Deborah Lipstadt explained in

soft-core denial of the holocaust. The apathy to radical speech can be just as deadly committing the crime. To not remember the specific gruesome details, and shove the incident in the corner as a reminder is an injustice to everybody involved, including those who were apart of the mob. Its no coicidense that my ancestors are nearly all from Duluth, and very well could have been a part of the mob. I will never know. My great grandma Helene Smith would have been 13, and my greatgrandpa Ezra Luhm, 19. I also know my great grandpa worked on the railroad after the time of the incident. Thankfully his name is not anywhere near this book. My family around that time lived in West Duluth. Its not far-fetched to believe that he might have been there. It was a big mob. My other grandparents were in the city at the time, having been married in 1906 in Duluth. I am a 4th generation Duluthian, my family has personally built many houses that still stand today in Duluth. My other Great grandfather was also a Shriner, and very well could have been at the Shrine at the time of the event. Hans Otto Holm, went on to help design the Coppertop Church in Duluth. He passed away in 1964.

The Details of this book were very gruesome and sympathetic, there is many anti-heros within the story, however intolerance, prevailed. Because of that, countless generations that could have been born to these three men, were denied, and in turn, an entire generation was affected in Duluth.

"The other lynching in Duluth." Writ. Chris Julin. NPR. MPR, June 2001. Radio. Read, Warren. Warren Read, Teacher, and Writer. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. <http://www.warrenread.com/>. Fedo, Michael. The Lynchings in Duluth. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.