"Three Negroes Were Burned Here"
Back in May 1922, there was a lynching in an eastern Texas town. There were many lynchings in those days all across the South, but this one stood out as being especially heinous - and it happened around 80 miles southeast of Dallas.
The condemned men were McKinley "Snap" Curry, Mose Jones, and John Cornish, who was only 19 years old at the time of his death. All three had been implicated in the brutal murder of a white female high school student in the town of Kirvin. Only one of them may have had anything to do with her death, but that didn't matter to the white townfolk of Kirvin. They weren't interested in a fair trial. They were interested in a spectacle of blood - and fire.
So a posse of vigilantes broke into the county lockup in nearby Fairfield and kidnapped Curry, Jones, and Cornish, hauling them back to Kirvin, where an assembled mob had already gathered at dawn in a vacant lot between two churches. As the mob watched, at least one of the men was castrated. Then Curry was tied to an old plow and doused in gasoline as firewood was stacked up around him. And then somebody lit a match.
It took around 10 minutes for the fire to burn Curry to death. Afterwards, Jones and Cornish were dragged into the fire with ropes until they themselves were also dead.
Last month, I stood in that same spot in the middle of Kirvin. I walked around the grass, leaned against the tree that grew on the site, looked in vain for any traces of the grisly spectacle. Many of the locals are understandably very touchy about anyone dragging up the past, and the Texas State Historical Association doesn't even mention the lynching in their history of Kirvin. But someone needs to talk about it, especially on days like today where the Selma march has been commemorated.
I created this Mixcloud suite to reproduce my own impressions of the lynching and my journey to find where these men were murdered. This will not be easy listening, but some may find it profound.
https://www.mixcloud.com/derby378/three-negroes-were-burned-here/
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we need to remember. These men, among countless other men and women, deserve to have their names live on in hearts and minds. There is much to be ashamed of in our history. Never forget.
Jesus
I could scarcely believe it when I read the accounts of Kirvin for the first time.
And I was one of those unfortunate enough to watch ISIS/DAESH/Whatever set that poor Jordanian pilot on fire. I can only imagine the pain and suffering those poor men must have felt.
Hang in there. 
