Claude Neal
Age 23
A man accused of murder, lynched before he could stand trial
Brewton, Alabama
October 26, 1934
"Once we bring closure to this, I think my family could rest and have some kind of peace of mind."
Orlando Williams & Collyn Stephens
Nephew of Neal and Un(re)solved Producer
START
OW: Claude Neal, my uncle, was 23 when he was killed. A mob hung him.
CS: How did you first learn about your uncle and his death?
OW: My grandmother and my mother and my aunt—they talked about it. But around April of 1986, my cousin Margaret Neal and I saw a news clipping from the library of my uncle. So we read it and the two of us sat down and started thinking of a way to bring a closure to this, or to make people know about this incident. And she and I started this during that time period. About 20 years ago she died from cancer, so I’ve been basically doing it on my own since that time, continuing the investigation so that America can see what actually happened and hopefully bring closure to it for my family.
CS: What is justice for your family or for Claude Neal, that closure aspect?
OW: In 2005, Congress apologized for the lynchings that took place in the United States, but they didn’t bring any fruit to the table, so to speak, like compensation. You need compensation and some kind of a program for the kids, college grants, so they can excel in life. And that’s what we’re seeking, no matter what the dollar amount is, as long as reparation is implemented to compensate for the harm that you’ve done to my family.
Once we bring closure to this, I think my family could rest and have some kind of peace of mind. But the same thing that was happening then is happening now. The only way we’re going to stop this from happening in the future is by giving economic power to African-Americans in this country. We need to let America know of this incident. And I will continue to work on this case until I leave this earth.
END
Photo by Demetric Blyther
Claude Neal, a married Black man with a toddler daughter, lived on a 40-acre farm with his aunt and mother in Greenwood, Florida. On October 19, 1934, local authorities arrested him for the murder of his white employer’s daughter, who had been found dead near her family’s farm. During the county sheriff’s investigation, several locals mentioned they had seen Neal in the area. Police searched Neal’s home, where they said they found bloody clothing. They arrested Neal for the murder, according to a Department of Justice memo.
According to the memo, the sheriff “became aware of the lynching spirit arising in the community” and transferred Neal to one jail after another, eventually sending him across state lines to a jail in Brewton, Alabama. After law enforcement made several trips to the jail to question Neal, the 23-year-old, who couldn’t read or write, signed a typed confession letter with an “X.”
Six days after Neal had been transferred to the Brewton jail, a group of men stormed the facility. They brought Neal’s body back to Jackson County, Florida; tortured him for several hours; then murdered him, after which they tied his body to the back of a car and dragged him, eventually hanging him from a tree outside a local courthouse. According to a NAACP investigation, a mob of thousands participated in or watched Neal’s lynching or the mutilation of his body afterward. Some members of the mob then went on to terrorize other local Black residents.
Initial Investigation
A Florida grand jury examined the case but ended its investigation after three days, saying it was unable “to get much direct or positive evidence.” In its report, the grand jury concluded that Neal had murdered the young woman, that law enforcement officials had done everything in their power to protect him, and that Neal had come to his death at the hands of a small group of unknown persons.
The NAACP sent its own investigator, who conducted numerous interviews with both Black and white members of the community. According to the Department of Justice memo, the NAACP report said “it was well known” that “prominent citizens and businessmen were involved in the lynching,” and that many residents “accepted the lynching of Neal as a ‘righteous act.’”
A book on Neal’s death, “Anatomy of a Lynching,” was published by the writer James McGovern in 1982. At that time, McGovern wrote that all but one of the six original members of the group that allegedly killed Neal had died.
Till Act Status
The FBI opened a new investigation into Neal’s death in 2011. Agents reviewed earlier law enforcement reports, the NAACP report, news coverage and McGovern’s 1982 book. According to a Department of Justice memo, “no new leads were discovered, and given the state of the evidence and the age of the case, there is no realistic chance of a criminal prosecution at this time.”
The case was closed in October 2013.
Case Status closed
Closed 10/01/2013
Themes
- Closed Cases
- Men
- Storycorps Stories
About the Project
This multiplatform investigation draws upon more than two years of reporting, thousands of documents and dozens of first-hand interviews. FRONTLINE spoke to family and friends of the victims, and witnesses, some of whom had never been interviewed; current and former Justice Department officials and FBI agents, state and local law enforcement; lawmakers, civil-rights leaders and investigative journalists, to explore the Department of Justice’s reopening of civil rights-era cold cases under the 2008 Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act.
In addition to an examination of the federal effort, the project features the first comprehensive, interactive list of all those whose cases were reopened by the Department of Justice. Today, the list stands at 151 names. Among the victims: voting rights advocates, veterans, Louisville’s first female prosecutor, business owners, mothers, fathers, and children.
The project consists of a web-based interactive experience, serialized podcast, a touring augmented-reality exhibit, documentary and companion education curriculum for high schools and universities.
A project like Un(re)solved would not be possible without the historic and contemporary contributions of universities, civil rights groups, and the press, particularly the Black press, who have ensured the ongoing public record of racist violence in the United States. To pay homage to these groups, the web interactive begins with a quote from journalist, activist and researcher Ida B. Wells, one of the first to document with precision the horrors of racial terror in America. “The way to right wrongs,” she wrote, “is to turn the light of truth upon them.”
At the outset of the project, FRONTLINE forged a relationship with Northeastern University’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ), bringing them on as an academic partner. Launched in 2007 by Distinguished Law Professor Margaret Burnham, CRRJ is a mission-driven program of interdisciplinary teaching, research and policy analysis on race, history, and criminal justice. Their work has expanded beyond the names on the Justice Department’s list, archiving documents in over 1,000 cases of racially motivated homicides.
With support from the CRRJ, FRONTLINE reporters gathered what could be known about the individuals on the list, conducting interviews with family, friends and witnesses, delving into newspaper archives and gathering documentation including headstone applications, draft cards and archival photographs.
At the heart of the project has been a drive to center the voices of the families of those on the list. FRONTLINE partnered with StoryCorps to record nearly two dozen oral histories with victims’ next of kin, which are featured both in the web-based interactive and traveling AR exhibit. These oral histories will also be archived in the National Library of Congress.
To lead the creative vision for the web experience and installation, FRONTLINE partnered with Ado Ato Pictures, a premier mixed reality studio founded by artist, filmmaker, and technologist Tamara Shogaolu.
Shogaolu rooted the visuals in the powerful symbolism of trees. In the United States, trees evoke the ideal of liberty, but also speak to an oppressive history of racially motivated violence. In Persian myth, trees are humanity’s ancestors, while in Toraja, Indonesia, they serve as sacred burial sites.
“I was really inspired by looking at the role of the tree as a symbol in American history” Shogaolu said. “It’s been looked at as a symbol of freedom, we look at it as a connector between generations, and also there’s the association of trees with racial terror.” When designing the creative vision for Un(re)solved Shogaolu wondered whether she might be able to reclaim the symbol of the tree. “As a person of color, we’re often terrified of being in isolated places in the woods. And I thought it was kind of crazy that there are natural environments that instinctually give great fear because of this connection with racial terror and I wanted to reclaim that — to turn these into beautiful spaces.”
Un(re)solved weaves imagery of trees, which also recall family ties, into patterns and textures from the American tradition of quilting. Among enslaved African Americans forbidden to read or write, quilts provided an important space to document family stories. Today, quilting remains a creative outlet rich with story and tradition for many American communities.
We invite you to enter this forest of quilted memories — a testimony to the lives of these individuals, and the multi-generational impact of their untimely, unjust loss.
(Credits to come)