Lynching of Jesse Washington

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/lynching-of-jesse-washington

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the date of lynching?May 15, 1916
2. What is the location of lynching?Waco, Texas
3. What happened to Jesse Washington in Waco, Texas?Jesse Washington, a 17‑year‑old farmhand, was accused of raping and killing Lucy Fryer. A mob took him from the courthouse, chained him, beat him, and then lynched him in a public display.
4. Why did so many people watch the lynching in Waco?About 10,000 people, including city officials and police, watched the event. It was a public spectacle that showed how common such violence was at the time.

Lynching: The extrajudicial murder of an individual by a mob, often as a form of racial terror and punishment without due process.
Farmhand: A laborer who works on a farm, typically performing manual tasks.
Public Spectacle: An event staged for public viewing, often characterized by dramatic or sensational elements, in this context, a horrific act of violence.
NAACP: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organization founded in 1909 to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons.