14 June 2008

Indianapolis Lynching

For Juneteenth, here is a scan of a postcard I recently found of Riverside Park Pavilion in Indianapolis.

Front of Postcard, looks innocent enough:
 


But then you read the back and maybe feel sick to your stomach:
 

Since it was never mailed, there is no postmark, and I am unsure of the date or of the lynching referred to therein.

If you cannot read it, it says:
This is where they lynched a negro the other day. They don't know who done it. I guess they don't care much. I don't, do you?

Update: There are some postcards with this one from Indianapolis. They have the same handwriting and are dated 1911 to 1921. They are adressed to Mrs. George Brown, Cedar Grove, IN, and signed, - your son John

4 comments:

Feoshia said...

Wow, that's really crazy. I can't believe you found that.

Jimmy_James said...

It's amazing how much the world has changed in last 90 years. Such sentiment now makes us recoil in disgust, but apparently was postcard material less than a century ago.

Anonymous said...

That actually makes me a little ill and I can't shake the sick feeling in my stomach...

Anonymous said...

The Park was founded 1903