Duluthians gather at Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial on 101st anniversary of lynching
More than a century ago, three Black circus workers were falsely accused of a crime, and then killed in front of an audience of thousands in downtown Duluth. Written By: Christa Lawler | ×
Members of the audience react to a speaker’s comments at the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, during the annual commemoration of three Black men murdered by a Duluth lynch mob in 1920. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
On the 101st anniversary of the lynching of three Black circus workers wrongfully accused of raping a white woman, Darnell Baker stood in front of the memorial in downtown Duluth and told the crowd that he, a 1981 Duluth Central High School graduate, had never heard this story while growing up in this neighborhood.