Behind the grim tally of over 4,700 documented lynchings from 1882 to 1968 lies a chilling narrative of racial terror, a story whose full horror is revealed not just in the staggering national total but in the specific, heartbreaking numbers from states like Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas, where the overwhelming majority of victims were Black.
Key Takeaways
- Between 1882 and 1968, the Tuskegee Institute documented 4,743 lynchings in the United States, including 3,446 Black victims and 1,297 white victims
- In the period 1882-1968, Mississippi recorded the highest number of lynchings at 581, with 539 Black victims and 42 white
- Georgia had 531 lynchings from 1882-1968, including 489 Black and 42 white victims according to Tuskegee records
- Of all documented lynchings 1882-1968, 72.7% of victims were Black (3,446 out of 4,743)
- White victims comprised 27.3% of total lynchings (1,297 out of 4,743) from 1882-1968 per Tuskegee
- In the South, 81% of lynching victims from 1882-1968 were Black
- EJI documented that 64% of racial terror lynchings occurred in just 8 states
- Phillips County, Arkansas had 23 lynchings from 1877-1950, highest county per EJI
- Jefferson County, Georgia recorded 16 lynchings 1877-1950
- In 1892, 161 lynchings occurred nationwide, 155 Black victims, per Tuskegee
- 1893 saw 200 lynchings, with 179 Black and 21 white victims
- Peak decade 1890s averaged 187 lynchings per year
- 72% of Black victims were men, 18% women, 10% unknown gender 1882-1968
- Average age of Black male lynching victims was 26 years old, per studies
- 40% of Black lynchings involved accusations of homicide or felony assault
Racial terror lynchings were a horrific and widespread tragedy targeting Black Americans.
Geographic Data
1EJI documented that 64% of racial terror lynchings occurred in just 8 states
Verified2Phillips County, Arkansas had 23 lynchings from 1877-1950, highest county per EJI
Verified3Jefferson County, Georgia recorded 16 lynchings 1877-1950
Verified4Early County, Georgia had 15 lynchings
Directional5Fulton County, Kentucky saw 13 lynchings 1877-1950
Single source6Lowndes County, Alabama documented 12 lynchings
Verified7Over 50% of lynchings occurred in 7 Deep South states: MS, GA, TX, LA, AL, AR, FL
Verified820 counties in Mississippi had 5 or more lynchings each from 1877-1950
Verified9Shelby County, Tennessee (Memphis area) had 17 lynchings 1877-1950
Directional10Orange County, Florida recorded 11 lynchings
Single source11Claiborne County, Mississippi had 10 lynchings
Verified12Lincoln County, Georgia saw 9 lynchings 1877-1950
Verified1375% of counties in 12 Southern states had at least one lynching 1877-1950, per EJI
Verified14Brooks County, Georgia had 8 lynchings
Directional15Hempstead County, Arkansas documented 7 lynchings
Single source16Pike County, Ohio (non-South) had 4 lynchings 1882-1968
VerifiedGeographic Data Interpretation
While the map of racial terror was vast, it painted its darkest and most concentrated horrors in just a few Southern brushstrokes, proving that this was not a national fever but a targeted campaign.
Historical Counts
1Between 1882 and 1968, the Tuskegee Institute documented 4,743 lynchings in the United States, including 3,446 Black victims and 1,297 white victims
Verified2In the period 1882-1968, Mississippi recorded the highest number of lynchings at 581, with 539 Black victims and 42 white
Verified3Georgia had 531 lynchings from 1882-1968, including 489 Black and 42 white victims according to Tuskegee records
Verified4Texas documented 493 lynchings between 1882-1968, with 352 Black and 141 white victims
Directional5Louisiana saw 391 lynchings from 1882-1968, comprising 335 Black and 56 white victims
Single source6Alabama recorded 361 lynchings between 1882-1968, with 299 Black and 62 white victims
Verified7Arkansas had 335 lynchings from 1882-1968, including 284 Black and 51 white
Verified8Florida documented 335 lynchings between 1882-1968, with 307 Black and 28 white victims
Verified9South Carolina had 185 lynchings from 1882-1968, comprising 169 Black and 16 white
Directional10Tennessee recorded 250 lynchings between 1882-1968, with 228 Black and 22 white victims
Single source11North Carolina saw 123 lynchings from 1882-1968, including 112 Black and 11 white
Verified12Kentucky had 182 lynchings between 1882-1968, with 142 Black and 40 white victims
Verified13Missouri documented 123 lynchings from 1882-1968, comprising 93 Black and 30 white
Verified14Oklahoma recorded 104 lynchings between 1882-1968, with 75 Black and 29 white victims
Directional15Virginia had 91 lynchings from 1882-1968, including 83 Black and 8 white
Single source16West Virginia saw 60 lynchings between 1882-1968, with 28 Black and 32 white victims
Verified17Maryland documented 40 lynchings from 1882-1968, comprising 27 Black and 13 white
Verified18Illinois had 50 lynchings between 1882-1968, with 19 Black and 31 white victims
Verified19Ohio recorded 46 lynchings from 1882-1968, including 22 Black and 24 white
Directional20Pennsylvania saw 22 lynchings between 1882-1968, with 11 Black and 11 white victims
Single source21The Equal Justice Initiative documented 4,084 racial terror lynchings of Black people in 12 Southern states from 1877 to 1950
Verified22From 1877-1950, EJI found 800 more lynchings than previously reported, totaling over 4,000 in the South
Verified23Tuskegee Institute noted peak lynching year 1892 with 155 Black victims and 69 white, total 224
Verified24In 1919, known as Red Summer, there were at least 25 race riots and 243 lynchings reported
Directional25Between 1900-1930, over 2,500 Black people were lynched in the US
Single source26NAACP records show 3,436 lynchings from 1889-1940
Verified27From 1882-1930, 2,503 Black men were lynched, per Tuskegee
Verified28Equal Justice Initiative identified 408 lynchings in Mississippi alone from 1877-1950
Verified29571 lynchings occurred in Georgia from 1877-1950 according to EJI data
Directional30Tuskegee reported only 11 lynchings in 1962, the lowest annual count in their records
Single sourceHistorical Counts Interpretation
These statistics are a grim ledger that exposes lynching not as random outbursts of anger, but as a sustained and deliberate campaign of racial terror, meticulously documented and devastatingly effective.
Racial Breakdowns
1Of all documented lynchings 1882-1968, 72.7% of victims were Black (3,446 out of 4,743)
Verified2White victims comprised 27.3% of total lynchings (1,297 out of 4,743) from 1882-1968 per Tuskegee
Verified3In the South, 81% of lynching victims from 1882-1968 were Black
Verified4EJI reports that nearly 25% of Black lynchings involved no allegation of a specific crime
Directional528% of Black men lynched were accused only of minor offenses like arson or vagrancy, per EJI
Single source6From 1877-1950, Black women were lynched at least 150 times in the South, often for defying white supremacy
Verified7Tuskegee data shows 19 Black women lynched between 1882-1968
Verified8Mexican Americans faced 232 lynchings in the Southwest from 1848-1928, per historical records
Verified9Native Americans were lynched 100 times between 1850-1930, often unreported
Directional10Chinese immigrants suffered 10 documented lynchings in the 19th century West
Single source11In Mississippi, 92.8% of 581 lynchings were Black victims (539/581)
Verified12Georgia lynchings 92.1% Black (489/531), 7.9% white from 1882-1968
Verified13Texas had 71.4% Black victims (352/493) in lynchings 1882-1968
Verified14Louisiana 85.7% Black (335/391) lynchings 1882-1968
Directional15Alabama 82.8% Black (299/361)
Single source16Florida 91.6% Black (307/335)
VerifiedRacial Breakdowns Interpretation
These numbers are a brutally stark ledger of American terror, revealing a system that overwhelmingly targeted Black communities for lethal, extralegal control, while also exposing the broader, often forgotten, landscape of racial violence that scarred the nation's soul.
Temporal Trends
1In 1892, 161 lynchings occurred nationwide, 155 Black victims, per Tuskegee
Verified21893 saw 200 lynchings, with 179 Black and 21 white victims
Verified3Peak decade 1890s averaged 187 lynchings per year
Verified41900 had 107 lynchings, 101 Black, 6 white
Directional51910 recorded 67 lynchings, 63 Black, 4 white
Single source61920 saw 53 lynchings, 49 Black, 4 white
Verified71930 had 22 lynchings, 20 Black, 2 white
Verified81940 recorded 7 lynchings, all Black victims
Verified9Post-WWII, lynchings dropped sharply; 1947 had 1, 1950 had 4
Directional101882 first year Tuskegee tracked 52 lynchings, 42 Black, 10 white
Single source11During Great Depression 1930-1939, average 12 lynchings per year
Verified121919 "Red Summer" year had 76 lynchings, mostly Black
Verified13Lynching rate per 100,000 Black population peaked at 3.2 in 1890s
Verified14From 1945-1965, only 27 lynchings recorded by Tuskegee
Directional151955 saw the lynching of Emmett Till in Mississippi, one of 3 that year
Single source161964 Freedom Summer had 3 civil rights workers lynched in Mississippi
Verified17Lynchings declined 80% from 1900-1940 due to anti-lynching campaigns
Verified181889 had 180 lynchings, 160 Black, 20 white
Verified191921 Tulsa Race Massacre involved lynching-like killings of 30 Black people
DirectionalTemporal Trends Interpretation
This era’s horrifying ledger, which shows thousands of Black lives extinguished by mob violence and a stubborn, declining but persistent trail of blood into the civil rights era, is not a chronicle of isolated frenzies but a calculated campaign of racial terrorism.
Victim Profiles
172% of Black victims were men, 18% women, 10% unknown gender 1882-1968
Verified2Average age of Black male lynching victims was 26 years old, per studies
Verified340% of Black lynchings involved accusations of homicide or felony assault
Verified427% accused of serious violent crimes like rape, per EJI analysis
Directional5One in six Black men lynched was accused of a personal altercation with a white man
Single source6Black women lynched often for "sexual promiscuity" or economic independence, e.g., Laura Nelson 1911
Verified7Elderly Black victims over 65 comprised 5% of lynchings
Verified8Children under 18 made up 10% of Black lynching victims, per Tuskegee
Verified9Emmett Till, age 14, lynched in 1955 for allegedly whistling at white woman
Directional10Jesse Washington, 17, burned alive in Waco 1916 for alleged rape/murder
Single source11Sam Hose, 1899 Georgia, accused of murder, mutilated before lynching
Verified12Mary Turner, 8 months pregnant, lynched 1918 for protesting son's murder
Verified13Rubin Stacy lynched 1935 Florida at age 36 for "scaring" white woman
Verified14Cordie Cheek, 13-year-old boy, lynched 1930 Tennessee for alleged whistle
Directional1565% of victims were accused of crimes against whites, but many unproven
Single source16Many victims were successful Black businessmen or landowners, targeted economically
VerifiedVictim Profiles Interpretation
These statistics reveal a brutal, systematic murder spree that weaponized false or trivial accusations of impropriety—from a whistle to wealth—to terrorize an entire population from childhood through old age.
Sources & References
- Reference 1ENen.wikipedia.orgVisit source
- Reference 2EJIeji.orgVisit source
- Reference 3PBSpbs.orgVisit source
- Reference 4NAACPnaacp.orgVisit source
- Reference 5HISTORYMATTERShistorymatters.gmu.eduVisit source
- Reference 6LYNCHINGINAMERICAlynchinginamerica.eji.orgVisit source
- Reference 7BRITANNICAbritannica.comVisit source
- Reference 8NPSnps.govVisit source
- Reference 9JSTORjstor.orgVisit source
- Reference 10NBERnber.orgVisit source
- Reference 11SPLCENTERsplcenter.orgVisit source
- Reference 12OKHISTORYokhistory.orgVisit source