From the early 1900s to the late 1930s, African American sociologist Monroe Nathan Work researched every known lynching in the United States. Now, his tireless work has become the inspiration for an interactive map that offers a striking visualization of racist domestic terrorism spanning decades.
The Monroe Work Today research group launched a map earlier this year that allows users to discover the roughly 4,770 people of color lynched in the United States from the 1830s to the 1960s. By clicking on each colored point on the map, users can read information about each known individual, including their name and the circumstances of their lynching.
“Before this website, it was impossible to search the web and find an accurate scope of the history of American lynching. The names have always been kept safe, but distant, in old archives and scholarly books and dissertations,” the website explains. “This site leaves the record open for all Americans, especially high school students who want to learn more than what their textbook has to say.”
The data reveals that black men were the most lynched group of people among the documented victims, usually due to mob violence after criminal accusations. The map, which users can view based on region, also reveals the lynchings of Latinx people, Asians, Italians and Native Americans.
View the entire interactive map here.
Before You Go
