Levi Harrington

Levi Harrington (d. 1882-04-03) was a young African-American who, on April 3, 1882, was abducted from police custody by a large white mob of several hundred participants and lynched in Kansas City, Missouri, hanging him from a beam on the Bluff Street Bridge and shooting him. This followed the fatal shooting of a police officer earlier that day. "Newspapers reported that Mr. Harrington was innocent of the accusations against him, and no one was held accountable for lynching him."[1]

Lynching of Levi Harrington 1882-04-03

"Prior to the lynching, Mr. Harrington was reportedly a well-respected African-American, who lived with his wife and five children near Kansas City. One of his former employers described him as a 'faithful ... honest man,' who 'was sober and industrious, saved his money, and cared for his family."[1]

Levi Harrington was one of at least 60 African Americans victims of racial terror lynching killed in Missouri between 1877 and 1950.[2][3]

2018 Memorial

Harrington was one of 'almost 4400 "racial terror lynchings" between 1877 and 1950' in a registry compiled by the National Memorial for Peace and Justice project of the Equal Justice Initiative. A memorial plaque documenting Harrington's lynching is part of this National Memorial for Peace and Justice. It was dedicated in a ceremony Dec. 1, 2018, at the southwest corner of Ermine Chase Jr. Park, at the corner of W. 10th and Summit streets,[4] overlooking the location of the Bluff St. bridge.[5]

Eight months earlier on April 2, 2018, Kansas City Mayor Sly James and other leaders gathered to collect soil from the lynching site and published official acknowledgements of the lynching.[6]

Community Remembrance Project of Missouri

In 2020, in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative, the Community Remembrance Project of Missouri was formally established by Missourians to work in coordination with communities throughout the state "to raise public awareness, facilitate education, and work toward reconciliation regarding the state of Missouri's history of racial injustice—in particular, its legacy of racial terrorism." [7]

Beginning in 2018, the Community Remembrance Project of Missouri began collecting jars of soil from lynching sites across the state,[3] with plans to erect more historical markers. As of June 2020, the organization plan has announced plans to establish a permanent exhibit at the Black Archives of Mid-America, located in Kansas City, Missouri, with the purpose of "[acknowledging] the horrors of racial injustice."[7]

Vandalism

In early 2019 the sign had been defaced with graffiti. On Sunday, June 14, 2020, the plaque was found broken off its pedestal and thrown off a nearby cliff. Rev. Dr. Vernon Howard, Jr., the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, was not surprised to hear of the vandalism. “The continued hate against black symbols is a resurging problem". This sort of vandalism reminds us of the need for memorials like this, he added.[8]

See also

References
  1. From the inscription on the plaque, based on research by The National Memorial for Peace and Justice project of the Equal Justice Initiative.
  2. Crp-mo. "The Community Remembrance Project of Missouri". Crp-mo. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  3. Crp-mo. "The Community Remembrance Project of Missouri". Crp-mo. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  4. "Kansas City to Dedicate Historical Marker for Lynching". Missouri Catholic Conference. November 30, 2018.. Max, Elyse (November 13, 2018). "Support Truth and Reconciliation: Marker Dedication Ceremony for Kansas City Lynching Victim Levi Harrington". Missourians for alternatives to the death penalty. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.. Johnson, Michelle Tyrene (Nov 30, 2018). "Kansas City Erects First Memorial To Remember A Victim Of Lynching". KCUR.
  5. The Bluff St. bridge seems to have been either renamed or replaced with a bridge of a different name since 1882.
  6. "Community leaders gather to remember local lynching victim". Missouri Times. April 2, 2018.
  7. Crp-mo. "The Community Remembrance Project of Missouri". Crp-mo. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  8. Noah Taborda (15 June 2020), Lynching Victim Memorial Broken Off And Tossed Down Cliff In Kansas City, Missouri, KCUR-FM, Wikidata Q96329847.
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