Map of US Lynchings

Over the year thousands of black Americans have been killed by white Americans. They are not the only racial group to have suffered at the violent hands of white Americans. During the 1890's mobs of white men killed around 9 people per month. But lynchings didn't only happen in the 19th century they continued in the United States well into the second half of the 20th century.

Monroe Work Today has released a new interactive map of lynchings in the United States from 1835 to 1964. The map plots the locations of incidents of white mob violence across the whole of the country. Different colored markers on the map indicate whether the victims of this violence were black, Chinese, Native American or other groups of Americans.

You can select individual markers on the map to learn more about each individual instance of white mob violence. Each instance also includes links to the sources for the mapped lynching. A timeline at the bottom of the map plots the number of lynchings over time. This timeline is interactive and can be used to filter the lynchings shown on the map by any date range.

The data for the map builds on the research of the black sociologist Monroe Nathan Work, who published biannual lynching reports at the beginning of the 20th century. His reports have been enhanced and referenced with more modern research. As well as the interactive map Monroe Work Today provides a detailed look at the life and work of Monroe Work and the history of white mob violence in the United States.