Lynching of Elias Zarate
| Part of Vigilante Justice | |
 News coverage of the Lynching of Elias Zarate | |
| Date | November 11, 1922 [A 1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas |
| Participants | 15 men |
| Deaths | Elias Villarael Zarate |
Elias Villarael Zarate was a 22-year-old, Mexican immigrant who was lynched in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas by a white mob, his body then being discovered on November 11, 1922. The lynching of Zarate (also known as the Weslaco Affair[1]) was the 15th lynching in Texas. According to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary it was the 56th of 61 lynchings during 1922 in the United States. [2] [3]
Background
Texas was a very hostile place towards Mexicans after World War I. According to Lawrence A. Cardoso right after World War I ended, one Mexican national was lynched a week in the state of Texas.[4]
On Thursday, November 9, 1922, Elias V. Zarate was part of a crew erecting a creamery at Weslaco. A fight broke out after a co-worker, J.L. Sullivan, got Zarate fired when Sullivan complained about the quality of his work. In the fight, Sullivan's arm was broken and Zarate was arrested by Weslaco police.[5] [6] [1] Zarate was placed into an unguarded building that was sometimes used as a jail.[1]
Lynching
At 8:00 PM, Thursday, November 9, 1922, a mob of 8-15[A 2] people were able to break the lock to the temporary jail and forced Zarate at gunpoint into a car. [6] It was hours before the absence was noticed by police. He was never seen alive again and Zarate's body was found on a road 5 miles (8.0 km) from Weslaco on November 11, 1922.
Aftermath
After the lynching, anti-minority sentiment in some Texas cities and towns peaked with large white mobs roaming the streets demanding Blacks and Mexicans leave their areas. On November 16, 1922, hundreds of whites marched through the streets of Breckenridge, Texas.[7] Mexican Consul General Eduardo Ruiz complained to Governor Pat Morris Neff about the lynching and anti-Mexican protests. When this got no response he lodged a complaint with Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes. Hughes then ordered Governor Neff to act and the Governor rushed extra police to Weslaco who improved the conditions for Mexicans living in the region.[4]
Annotations
References
- Notes
- ^ a b c The Brownsville Herald, November 15, 1922, p. 1.
- ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary 1926, p. 17.
- ^ New-York Tribune, May 27, 1922, p. 1.
- ^ a b Cardoso 1980, p. 114.
- ^ McWilliams, Meier & García 2016, p. 83.
- ^ a b Evening Star, November 16, 1922, p. 4.
- ^ Cole, Parker & Edwards 2004, p. 60.
- Bibliography
- "Mexico Protests Weslaco Affair". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Cameron, Texas: Brownsville Herald Pub. Co. November 15, 1922. pp. 1–6. ISSN 0894-2064. OCLC 12903289. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- Cole, Stephanie; Parker, Alison Marie; Edwards, Laura F. (2004). Beyond Black and White: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the U.S. South and Southwest. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 9781585443192. - Total pages: 144
- Cardoso, Lawrence A. (1980). Mexican Emigration to the United States, 1897–1931 - Chapter (pp. 96-118) 6 Mexican Policies and Attitudes in the 1920s: New Urgency. University of Arizona Press. JSTOR j.ctvss3xzr.10. Retrieved March 13, 2022. - Total pages: 23
- "Find Missing Mexican Shot Through Heart". Evening Star. Washington, District of Columbia: W.D. Wallach & Hope. November 16, 1922. pp. 1–42. ISSN 2331-9968. OCLC 2260929. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- "Rangers hold lynch mob at bay in Waco". New-York Tribune. New York, New York: Ogden Mills Reid. May 27, 1922. pp. 1–18. ISSN 1941-0646. OCLC 9405688. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
- McWilliams, Carey; Meier, Matt S.; García, Alma M. (2016). North from Mexico: The Spanish-Speaking People of the United States, 3rd Edition: The Spanish-Speaking People of the United States. ABC-Clio. ISBN 9781440836831. - Total pages: 448
- Robertson, Campbell (April 25, 2018). "A Lynching Memorial Is Opening. The Country Has Never Seen Anything Like It". The New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
- United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (1926). "To Prevent and Punish the Crime of Lynching: Hearings Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on S. 121, Sixty-Ninth Congress, First Session, on Feb. 16, 1926". United States Government Publishing Office. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
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| Number | Name | Date | Place | Method of lynching | Number of victims |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill McAllister | January 8, 1922 | Williamsburg, S.C. | Shot | 1 |
| 2 | Lincoln Hickson | January 8, 1922 | Williamsburg, S.C. | Shot | 1 |
| 3 | Willie Jenkins | January 10, 1922 | Eufaula, Alabama | Shot | 1 |
| 4 | Jake Brooks | January 14, 1922 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Hanged | 1 |
| 5 | Charles Strong | January 17, 1922 | Mayo, Florida | Hanged | 1 |
| 6 | Will Bell | January 29, 1922 | Pontotoc, Mississippi | Shot | 1 |
| 7 | Unidentified | January 29, 1922 | Pontotoc, Mississippi | Shot | |
| 8 | Drew Conner (White) | January 28, 1922 | Bolinger, Alabama | Burned | 1 |
| 9 | Will Thrasher | February 1, 1922 | Crystal Springs, Mississippi | Hanged | 1 |
| 10 | Harry Harrison | February 2, 1922 | Malvern, Arkansas | Shot | 1 |
| 11 | Manuel Duarte | February 2, 1922 | Cameron County, Texas | Shot | 1 |
| 12 | P. Norman | February 11, 1922 | Texarkana, Arkansas | Shot | 1 |
| 13 | Will Jones | February 13, 1922 | Ellaville, Georgia | Shot | 1 |
| 14 | William Baker | March 8, 1922 | Aberdeen, Mississippi | Hanged | 1 |
| 15 | Alfred Williams | March 12, 1922 | Harlem, Georgia | Hanged | 1 |
| 16 | Brown Culpepper (White) | March 13, 1922 | Holly Grove, Louisiana | Shot | 1 |
| 17 | Jerry Ingram | March 17, 1922 | Crawford, Mississippi | Shot | 1 |
| 18 | Unidentified (white) | March 19, 1922 | Okay, Oklahoma | Drowned | 1 |
| 19 | Alexander Smith | March 22, 1922 | Gulfport, Mississippi | Hanged | 1 |
| 20 | Snap Curry | May 6, 1922 | Kirvin, Texas | Burned | 1 |
| 21 | H. Varney (or Johnnie Cornish) | May 6, 1922 | Kirvin, Texas | Burned | 1 |
| 22 | Mose Jones | May 6, 1922 | Kirvin, Texas | Burned | 1 |
| 23 | Tom Cornish | May 8, 1922 | Kirvin, Texas | Hanged | 1 |
| 24 | Thomas Early | May 17, 1922 | Conroe, Texas | Burned | 1 |
| 25 | Charles Atkins | May 18, 1922 | Davisboro, Georgia | Burned | 1 |
| 26 | Hullen Owens | May 19, 1922 | Texarkana, Texas | Hanged (body burned) | 1 |
| 27 | Joe Winters | May 20, 1922 | Conroe, Texas | Burned | 1 |
| 28 | Mose Bozier | May 20, 1922 | Alleyton, Texas | Hanged | 1 |
| 29 | Gilbert Wilson | May 23, 1922 | Bryan, Texas | Beaten to death | 1 |
| 30 | Jesse Thomas | May 26, 1922 | Waco, Texas | Shot (body burned) | 1 |
| 31 | William Byrd | May 28, 1922 | Brentwood, Georgia | Shot (body burned) | 1 |
| 32 | Robert Collins | June 20, 1922 | Summit, Mississippi | Hanged | 1 |
| 33 | Warren Lewis | June 23, 1922 | New Dacus, Texas | Hanged | 1 |
| 34 | James Harvey | July 1, 1922 | Lanes Bridge, Georgia | Hanged | 1 |
| 35 | Joe Jordan | July 1, 1922 | Lanes Bridge, Georgia | Hanged | 1 |
| 36 | Philip Tankard | July 5, 1922 | Belhaven, North Carolina | Shot | 1 |
| 37 | Joe Pemberton | July 7, 1922 | Benton, Louisiana | Hanged | 1 |
| 38 | Jake "Shake" Davis | July 14, 1922 | Miller County, Georgia | Hanged | 1 |
| 39 | Oscar Mack | July 18, 1922 | Orange County, Florida | Hanged (False report, Oscar Mack survived) | 1 |
| 40 | Will Anderson | July 24, 1922 | Allentown, Georgia | Shot | 1 |
| 41 | John West | July 28, 1922 | Guernsey, Arkansas | Shot | 1 |
| 42 | Gilbert Harris | August 1, 1922 | Hot Springs, Arkansas | Hanged | 1 |
| 43 | John Glover | August 1, 1922 | Holton, | Shot | 1 |
| 44 | Bayner Blackwell | August 6, 1922 | Swansboro, North Carolina | Shot | 1 |
| 45 | John Steelman | August 23, 1922 | Lambert, Mississippi | Burned | 1 |
| 46 | Thomas Rivers | August 30, 1922 | Bossier Parish, Louisiana | Hanged | 1 |
| 47 | F. Watt Daniels (White) | August 1922 | Mer Rouge, Louisiana | Ku-Klux Klan | 1 |
| 48 | Thomas F. Richards (White) | August 1922 | Mer Rouge, Louisiana | Ku-Klux Klan | 1 |
| 49 | Jim Reed Long | September 2, 1922 | Winder, Georgia | Ku-Klux Klan | 1 |
| 50 | O.J. Johnson | September 7, 1922 | Newton, Texas | Hanged | 1 |
| 51 | Jim Johnston | September 28, 1922 | Sandersville, Georgia | Hanged | 1 |
| 52 | Grover C. Everett | September 28, 1922 | Abilene, Texas | Shot | 1 |
| 53 | John Brown | October 3, 1922 | Montgomery, Alabama | Shot | 1 |
| 54 | Ed Hartley (white) | October 20, 1922 | Camden, Tennessee | Shot | 1 |
| 55 | George Hartley (white) | October 20, 1922 | Camden, Tennessee | Shot | 1 |
| 56 | Elias V. Zarate | November 11, 1922 | Weslaco, Texas | Shot | 1 |
| 57 | Cupid Dickson / Cubrit Dixon | December 5, 1922 | Madison, Florida | Shot | 1 |
| 58 | Charles Wright | December 8 ,1922 | Perry, Florida | Burned | 1 |
| 59 | Less Smith | December 9, 1922 | Morrilton, Arkansas | Burned | 1 |
| 60 | George Gay | December 11, 1922 | Streetman, Texas | Hanged | 1 |
| 61 | Arthur Young | December 11, 1922 | Perry, Florida | Hanged | 1 |
