In April of 2018, I was working quite a bit on my LaRue/Byrd line. My DNA had just came in and I was making all these new connections and figuring out new sub branches of my tree. In doing so.. I came across something terribly saddening and heartbreaking.
Has anyone ever heard of the lynching of John Carter in Arkansas in 1927? He was wrongly killed for the murder of a girl named Floella McDonald. Come to find out, the true murderer was the biracial son of a janitor at the church where Floella's body was found.
Floella, come to find out, was my 1st cousin 3x removed. Her Mother, Easter Mae (Byrd) McDonald was the sister of Carrie Annie (Byrd) LaRue - my 2x Great-Grandmother.
Wow. I'm in utter shock. I had never heard of this story at all. Here is some information of it I found on Ancestry...
** In Little Rock, Arkansas, 1927, a racial riot erupted over the lynching of John Carter, a black man who was the fall guy for the homicide of a 12-year old white girl named Floella McDonald.
The child was found in First Presbyterian Church. Originally, the blame fell on the church janitor who found the girl along with his biracial son. The men were safely moved to a Texarkana jail before a mob demanded blood.
In a nearby city, a 38 year-old black man named John Carter had been accused of assaulting a white woman and her daughter. The angry white mob of 5,000 people found Carter, hung him from a pole, shot him and drug him through the streets. They took him to the black community and incited a riot, breaking into buildings, including a furniture retail store. The mob piled the wooden furniture and doors from the church together, set it on fire and burned Carter’s body at the intersection of 9th and Broadway.
The Arkansas National Guard was deployed to stop the riot, and upon arrival, found one of the mob members directing traffic at the intersection with the arm of John Carter. Fortunately, the black community leader had encouraged black families to stay inside, avoiding a large death toll during the massive tension.
Once the riot and killing of Carter went to trial, it was dismissed without indictment of anyone involved. The city was concerned about their national reputation in the media. They banned distribution of the black newspapers, The Chicago Defender and The Pittsburgh Courier, with fear that it would cause more tension. To make matters worse, the town was still in search of the killer of 12 year-old Floella McDonald.
On May 19th, Lonnie Dixon, the biracial son of the First Presbyterian Church janitor, was tried and convicted of murder. He was sentenced to death. After being under watch by the Arkansas National Guard during trial, Dixon was executed a month later. There are current efforts underway to obtain a public marker at the intersection of 9th and Broadway to honor John Carter and pinpoint the tolerance of the Little Rock court system. A small display exists at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.
The First Presbyterian Church, Little Rock, where the body of little Floella McDonald was found in the bell tower. On April 12, 1927, a little white girl, Floella McDonald, disappeared on her way home from the library. For three weeks, family, friends, and officials searched for her. Finally, following a foul smell, the black janitor of the First Presbyterian Church found her body in the church’s bell tower. Her head had been bashed in with a brick found nearby. A teenager, Lonnie Dixon, the church janitor’s son, was arrested and charged with rape and murder. Many whites were angry and wanted to “get” Lonnie themselves. Several thousand people went to the jail and demanded that police turn him over. Instead, Chief Burl Rotenberry sent Lonnie to an out-of-town jail, to keep him safe.
No one was ever charged or prosecuted for lynching John Carter. A jury deliberated for only twelve minutes before convicting Lonnie Dixon of killing Floella McDonald. He was executed in the electric chair on June 24, 1927, his sixteenth birthday. **
I am absolutely astounded by this. This is such an incredibly sad and tragic happening. My heart hurts for Floella and her family, which is my family, and it hurts for John Carter and his family. In 1927, almost one-hundred years ago.. things were rough. Racism was alive and well. I'm very surprised that no one in my LaRue/Byrd family had ever heard of Floella McDonald.
Sure, it happened in 1927, and it didn't happen here in Henderson where we, most of the Byrd descendants, live today... but still. You'd have thought this would have been talked about among the family for generations. I wish my Grandpa were still alive so I could ask him about it and if he had ever heard even just whispers about the event.
My Great-Great-Grandmother Carrie undoubtedly had to have known about it, Easter being her sister and all. I'm sure letters were exchanged. How could they not have been? My Great-Grandmother, Lorene, would have been 13 years of age... old enough to know about what's going on in the family. I wonder if she was ever told about it.
Finding this information has left an imprint on me for sure. This is over three years later and I am still stunned. I am still floored. I am still shocked and appalled. It shocks me that in 2021, the lynching of the wrong man is more talked about than Floella's murder itself. I rightfully understand why. Lynching the wrong man happened so often back in those times and it was wrong. Horrendously and terrifyingly wrong.. but still, I feel like John Carter is remembered in 2021, and Floella is not. They should both be remembered. Both were innocent people whos lives were cut short.
I honestly cannot fathom why Lonnie Dixon raped and killed 12-year-old Floella. A burst of rage? Jealousy? I guess we'll never know. The true motive died with him. She was only twelve. He was only fifteen. What kind of motive could he have possibly had? I guess some people are just born evil and maybe he's a prime example of that.
May you rest in peace, sweet cousin.
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