I’m originally from Holly Springs, Mississippi, the birthplace of legendary journalist and anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett. As mayor, my dad helped make sure her birth site was preserved and it’s now the location of the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum.
I’m not saying I know everything about Ida B. Wells — I absolutely don’t. And that came into focus for me just a few months ago, while working on our TSD video series: “History: Hidden In Plain Sight.” That was when I learned the names of Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell and William Stewart. Moss and Wells were close friends, and it was his murder that launched her on her anti-lynching campaign. If you don’t know the story, watch the clip below.
But there’s now another chapter to the story: On March 23, their gravesite became home to a new historical marker at Zion Christian Cemetary (1426 S. Parkway E.). The National Park Service marker was placed at the grave of Moss in keeping with the movement to document the history of lynching in the United States.
One thing that has always fascinated me about history are the details – how these major shifts in American history and human history come down to everyday people just trying to make a living. Understanding what happened at People’s Grocery adds a whole different dimension to Ida B. Wells life and work. It makes the history come alive.
Zion Christian Cemetery, 1426 S. Parkway
E., was the setting (March 23) for the unveiling
of an historic marker in memory
of Memphis business partners Thomas
Moss, Calvin McDowell and William Stewart,
who were lynched in 1892 several days
after racist intruders descended upon their
store, The People’s Grocery. The National
Park Service marker was placed at the
grave of Moss in keeping with the movement
to document the history of lynching
in the U.S. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)
Peoples Grocery was on Mississippi Boulevard.
News coverage of the lynchings, including drawings of Thomas Moss and Calvin McDowell.