1916-04-05
Greene County
Alleged offense: Supporting his son
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Age: 50
Legal intervention (in alleged offense): Yes
Legal intervention (following lynching): No
Mob size: Unrecorded
Mob members: Unrecorded
Alleged victim: N/A
Household Status: Married with children
Occupation: Farmer
Joseph Black’s son, Will Black, was being held in the state prison in Raleigh, accused of sexually assaulting a 6 year old girl and beating her mother. Will Black had been moved to that prison to ward off threats of lynching, which his father had apparently met by arming Will against a mob. For the crime of providing his son with guns, Joseph Black was arrested and then imprisoned in Kinston, away from his own home in Greene County. Early one morning, a mob, numbering hundreds, seized Joseph Black from the Kinston jail. The mob headed north in their cars. Some witnesses reported hearing scattered gunshots in the northeastern part of Kinston shortly after 3:00 a.m. Other witnesses reported hearing many gunshots in Greene County, between the communities of Maury and Lizzie where Joseph Black’s gunshot-riddled body was found.
Documentation
Death certificate: Death Certificate Joe Black
Census: None found
News coverage:
Location
Town: Maury, North Carolina
Latitude/Longitude: 35.497705, -77.595319
Rationale: Lynching site is within 2 miles and based on official death certificate and reports of shots fired on the road between Maury and Lizzie in Greene County.
Additional Resources:
Researcher’s Note: