Lynching of Henry Choate
| Lynching of Henry Choate | |
|---|---|
| Location | Columbia, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Date | November 13, 1927 |
Attack type | Murder by bludgeoning, lynching, extrajudicial killing, hanging, dragging |
| Weapon | Rope, sledgehammer, motor vehicle |
| Victim | Henry Choate, aged 18 |
| Perpetrators | Mob of white residents in Columbia, Tennessee |
| Motive | Anti-black racism, retaliation against Choate for being accused of the assault of a white girl |
| Charges | None |
Henry Choate was an 18-year-old African-American teenager who was lynched by a mob in Columbia, Tennessee, on November 13, 1927. Choate was accused of having assaulted 16-year old Sarah Harlan, a white girl, and was taken to the Columbia jail, despite Harlan not being able to identify Choate as the attacker. A mob numbering hundreds of people sprang him from the jail, dragged him through the city behind a car, and then hanged him from the courthouse. During the lynching, Harlan's mother begged the mob to spare Choate's life. A grand jury declined to file any charges.