(1899) Rev. D. A. Graham, "Some Facts About Southern Lynchings" •

On June 2, 1899, Black Americans observed a day of fasting in protest against lynchings. From the article:

"Little is known about Reverend D. A. Graham, the A.M.E. minister who delivered the speech that appears below. However the minister’s words were recorded as part of a nationwide protest in 1899 against lynchings of African Americans across the nation. In May of 1899 the newly formed African American Council issued a proclamation calling upon black Americans to set apart Friday, June 2, “as a day of fasting and prayer.” Special exercises were to be held in black churches across the nation the following Sunday, as a protest against lynching. On June 4, Reverend Graham delivered his sermon at Bethel A.M.E. Church in Indianapolis as part of the protest. The sermon, reprinted in the Indianapolis Recorder, a local African American newspaper, appears below."