Ku Klux Klan in Virginia – Encyclopedia Virginia encyclopediavirginia.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from encyclopediavirginia.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Bird’s death was given a one-sentence mention in the August 23 issue of
Time magazine: “At Wytheville, Va., last week gentry stormed the county jail; shot Raymond Bird, 31, Negro; hanged his black body to a tree.” The reporting glossed over the grisly specifics of the case, however. Bird was being held in jail accused of assaulting the two white daughters of his employer, and while local officials knew a mob had formed, they did little to protect the prisoner. According to an Associated Press report, the mob shot Bird and beat his head “into a pulp.” They then tied a rope around his neck, attached his corpse to a waiting automobile, and dragged his body nine miles to the scene of his alleged assaults. There, they strung his body to a tree and filled it with more bullets.
Virginia board approves historical marker for 1927 Wise County lynching site timesnews.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesnews.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.