On Aug. 26, 1874, 16 Black men were dragged from the jail in Trenton, Tennessee, by a white mob of masked men.
Five were killed outright, others wounded, and a few, including Dug Jamison, managed to escape. Their names included Bob Love, Bill and Nick Ivey, and Bob Williams — men targeted simply for being Black in the Reconstruction South.
The abductions and killings made headlines across the nation, but when trials were held, intimidation silenced witnesses and white jurors acquitted the accused. No one was ever convicted.
The Trenton Massacre stands as a brutal reminder that freedom for Black Americans was always fragile and fiercely contested.
Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Clay Cane. Follow @claycane & @aurnonline for more.
