A young white farmer was dead in the small Florida suburb of MacClenny, and rumor had it Jim Givens was to blame. But rather than waiting to find out the truth, a mob of white savages decided to do something else.
They decided to take matters into their own hands and hunt down Givens. At the end of the day, no one even knew whether he had anything to do with it – but one thing is sure.
By the end of this story, the white vigilantes would DEFINITELY be guilty of something.
Givens escaped town in fear for his life – so his brother and two family friends were held for questioning. Rabid with their desire for blood, white vigilantes stormed the jail, lynching and burning the three men! But then something else unexpected happened.
They shot and killed a fourth man, who had no connection to the situation! What got him killed was being Black in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not a single white person was ever investigated, accused, or punished for these murders.
The innocent men who were murdered in MacClenny never experienced the justice they deserved. But by ensuring their story is told we learn truths that keep us aware and informed of the atrocities our people have overcome – their justice lives on through our resilience.