August 9, 1930:  Muncie Responds to the Marion Lynching

Rev. J. E. Johnson, a Muncie mortician, brought the bodies of Thomas Shipp and Abraham Smith (see August 8, 1930 entry) to Muncie to prepare them for a proper Christian burial.  This outraged members of Marion’s Caucasian community.  There were rumors that some of the Caucasian citizens wanted the bodies back so they could burn them.  African Americans from Muncie’s Whitely neighborhood came together to protect the bodies.  With the support of Sheriff Fred Puckett, they armed themselves with rifles, shotguns, and revolvers and placed themselves around the Whitley community to wait for the mob to arrive.  Fortunately, the mob never came.  The next day, Rev. Johnson was escorted by Sheriff Puckett and members of the African American community to the county line.  Rev. Johnson continued on to Marion for the burial. 

Cited by:  Marrow, T. A., III (2004). Reconciling the Past:  A Brief History of Race Relations in Muncie. Muncie, IN: TEAMwork for Quality Living.