Book Review: The Lynchings In Duluth by Michael Fedo

A brief account of the lynching of Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie in Duluth, MN, in June 1920. I don’t agree that Fedo has “dug deeply” into this story, but that he did the best with the scant information that was available at the time. Also, I’m not clear how Duluth at the time was “at the forefront of civil rights” because the book discusses the underlying racism that existed and lead to the lynchings.

The account is predictably disturbing because it is difficult to imagine 86 years later that such events occurred anywhere.

My version of the book (1979) bears the title They Was Just Niggers (an apparent quote from a mob participant) and has a picture of the lynching on the front cover. The title and picture instantly convey the shock and horror of that terrible June day.

A memorial was recently erected across the street from the site of the lynchings and grave markers were recently placed in the cemetery where the men are buried. www.claytonjacksonmcghie.org. It is better to acknowledge and publicly discuss a terrible event like this than pretend it never happened.