18/01/2024
On January 12, 1931, a black man named Raymond Gunn was seized by a mob of over 2,000 white men, women, and children, placed on the roof of the local white schoolhouse, and burned alive in a public spectacle lynching meant to terrorize the entire black community in Maryville, Missouri. Days before, a white school teacher had been found murdered and suspicion fell on Gunn, who was arrested. Following Gunn’s arrest, police took Gunn to jail in a neighboring county due to threats of lynching.
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On the morning of Gunn’s arraignment, a mob of almost 2,000 white men, women, and children gathered outside the courthouse. Despite the previous attacks and threats of violence, the local sheriff did not request assistance from the National Guard. With little resistance from local law enforcement, and 60 members of the National Guard at ease in an armory one block from the courthouse, Gunn was seized by the white mob and marched four miles down the road to the white schoolhouse. The mob chained Gunn to the rooftop of the building, doused the building in gasoline, and burned him alive as the mob of people watched and celebrated.
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This public spectacle lynching was meant to terrorize the black community of Maryville. Southern lynching was not only intended to impose “popular justice” or retaliation for a specific crime. Rather, these lynchings were meant to send a broader message of domination and to instill fear within the entire black community. In the days following Gunn’s lynching, more than 20% of Maryville's black population fled the town in fear. Despite investigations initiated by state officials, no one was ever arrested or convicted of any crime related to the lynching of Raymond Gunn.
Certa Spes