Lynching crowds voiced praise to God at the moment of death

Evidence

At that point, he screamed his last words: “Sweet Jesus!” Wilkes struggled against the flames, breaking the chain and lunging forward, at which point several whites pushed him back into the flames with large pieces of lumber and pinned him down until he died. While the intensity of the violence and suffering caused some in the crowd to look away, it also inspired expressions of religious ecstasy reminiscent of revival meetings. “Glory!” an old man in the crowd was recorded as saying. “Glory be to God!” — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 97

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: White lynch crowds were festive and photographed with trophies; Executions moved through city streets as participatory parade rituals — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 182; Prayer functioned as covert protest that spoke against lynching without open provocation. — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 1018 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• White lynch crowds were festive and photographed with trophies #expands (0.90)
• Executions moved through city streets as participatory parade rituals #expands (0.80) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 182