by Shawn Nowlin and S. Hale
Often glossed over in history, the period between the Reconstruction Era (1867-77) and World War II (1939-45), Thomas Smith was among approximately 4,400 racial terror lynchings that occurred in the United States.
The Community Remembrance Project of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in conjunction with the local EJI Coalition has launched efforts to memorialize documented victims of racial violence as well as foster meaningful dialogue about race and justice. Local EJI chair, Dr. Brenda Hale, and her team have engaged in a considerable amount of research regarding the history of lynching throughout the Roanoke Valley.
A packed crowd gathered Thursday (9/8) at the Claude Moore Culinary Arts Building on First Street downtown whereby local EJI members held a press conference that turned into a most revealing and informative educational program on the history of lynching in America.
Additionally, City Councilman Joe Cobb and local activist Jordan Bell, who spoke at great length, discussed the gentrification of Roanoke’s Northeast quadrant and the demolition of Henry Street known as “The Yard” both measures were conducted under the guise of “Urban Renewal,” as Bell so passionately pointed out throughout his discussion. At one point he equated the concept with lynching and asserted “lynching controls the economics of a community,” – a statement he pulled from the video played prior to his talk.
Ironically the event was held in what was once known as the Lincoln Theater which Bell flashed a huge and classic picture of that featured a crowd of well-dressed African American gentlemen gathered in front of the theater. The Lincoln preceded the Virginia Theater and were the two theaters on “The Yard.”
The strip, designated technically as First Street (downtown), was three city blocks of legitimate Black Businesses as the Dumas Hotel where many famous entertainers often stayed and performed at the nearby Star City Auditorium. It also had doctor’s offices, old High Street Baptist Church, The Roanoke Tribune (Black-own newspaper), Kaiser’s Record Shop, restaurants, and several other thriving businesses. All fell victim to first, the economic vicissitudes of the times and then ultimately to the officially orchestrated pillaging and demolition of what was once the city’s Black business district. Amazingly the Roanoke Tribune not only survived but reportedly never missed an issue of weekly publishing – an issue Bell spoke of in his closing remarks.
“Racial terror completely destroyed a community,” he said. “And we simply ask, WHY? However Bell answered his own question earlier in his talk when he referred to “jealousy and fear as the culprits… and to that formula must be added ignorance and blind, unbridled rage.
Nonetheless, it was the barbaric act of lynching, locally and in America that fuelled the project and the program. The two Black men primarily discussed during the event, William Lavender – hung Feb. 12, 1892, and Thomas Smith, Sept. 21, 1893, was unfortunately only two of the countless men and women who suffered such fate – yet it still is just part of the inhumane atrocities Blacks face historically.
Throughout her presentation, an extremely moving video with breath-taking imagery played as Jennie Waering shared her experience of visiting Montgomery, Ala., saying, “I had the privilege of spending some time there and experiencing the Lynching Memorial. It is impressive. It is overwhelming. It is tear-jerking and lynching, of course, was a part of slavery.
The event spoke boldly to the root and depth of the history of race relations in America. Also mentioned was the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, a federal law that makes lynching a hate crime that was signed into law just this year by President Biden on March 29, 2022.
Hale chided the crowd saying “discrimination does not take a day off,” and spoke of the immense amount of work and cooperative efforts from over 30 community partners involved in procuring information for the three year project.
Bill Bestpitch, a longtime councilman and EJI member read a detailed account of how Thomas Smith was wrongly accused of a crime which led to him being hung by a vicious mob here in Roanoke. Prior to his hanging a conflict between the local police force and a huge mob erupted killing several people in what became known as Roanoke’s riot of 1893.
During his talk about Old Lick Cemetery Councilman Joe Cobb showed a video of the property then and now as a small portion still exists just off Williamson Road across from the Civic Center near Sheetz convenience store. In a most revealing and almost remorseful manner Cobb admitted to the city’s decision to adopt the ordinance whereby 933 graves were exhumed, placed into 4-foot boxes and moved to Corner Springs Cemetery to make way for the I-581 interchange. Cobb said he first became aware of this when he attended a homeless memorial service in 2005.
In a motion to evoke balance, to the pain packed in the stark truth revealed through the entire project and the program, longtime councilman Joe Cobb spoke sensitively in summation saying, “When I saw the incredible memorial in Montgomery we shouldn’t just have a burial ground saying here lies 933 bodies. We should find a way to identify who those loved ones are and honor their ancestry and honor their lives with a living memorial that tells their story.”
Cobb also spoke of a newly formed group that’s working with First Baptist Church, Gainsboro to erect a new fence and clean up the cemetery. Among the grave stones still visible is one of John W. Leftwich (COF 100 CFI) a member of the 100th Regiment of the United States Colored Infantry during the Civil War that Cobb said most likely came to the area to work on the railroad.
“There is a powerful history in our community that’s not meant to be hidden. Its meant to be told and the more we tell that story the better opportunity we have to heal as a people,” said Cobb in closing.
Educating people, young and old about the history of America has become more politicized than ever. Recently a contingent of Republican lawmakers on both national and state level have treated the concept of Critical Race Theory like a pinata. Yet this fall, the first AP African American class will be taught at 60 high schools scattered across the country. By 2025, if all goes according to plan, the full course will be available to every high school.
Organizers of the EJI discussion say feedback they’ve received so far has been overwhelmingly positive. A Historical Marker Dedication was held for Thomas Smith whose marker was placed on the “common ground” of Mountain Ave. Franklin Road on Wednesday, Sept.21.
